


Lost at Sea

by NightwingDiva



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe, Chrobin - Freeform, F/M, mermaid au, mermaid robin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-04 00:30:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4120009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightwingDiva/pseuds/NightwingDiva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since the loss of her mother, Robin has felt a connection to the human world. Her fascination with the humans amplifies up until her father, the King the undersea kingdom Plegia, reveals his future plans for her. Trying to avoid her destiny, Robin swims away to find a way to join the human world. However, her new legs come at a cost.</p><p>As a human, Robin meets the young prince Chrom and the Shepherds, and they slowly discover that their destinies are intertwined. Now Chrom and Robin must find a way to save their countries and the earth from Validar--and possibly even themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Robin swam as low as she could in the shallow waters along the reef coast, passing by countless varieties of fish and admiring the vivid colors of the coral. Her powerful tail allowed her to weave tightly between the coral and rocks without losing any speed. She knew that she shouldn’t really be swimming this close to the shore but felt that her father was simply being illogical when he stated that the humans were ruthless barbarians, no more valuable than bottom feeders, and that they were not to be trusted. Granted, she had never actually met a human, but she enjoyed studying them from afar.

Ever since she had been granted the freedom to travel without a guard, she had tried to visit this reef at least once a week, without her father’s knowledge, of course. She had been caught a few times, usually ratted out by Aversa, and her father had reprimanded her for coming close enough to possibly have been seen by humans. He no doubt believed that she was intentionally trying to draw the humans’ attention. It wasn’t as if she wanted the be spotted by the human world, but she found their anatomy and habits so incredibly fascinating that she would likely not swim away very quickly if she spotted one or vice versa.

And even on the rare occasion that a human did happen to visit the reef, they never came close to where Robin swam. There was a relatively large trench located between her and the reef on the coast, and it seemed to deter the humans from coming too far out to sea.

As Robin crept along the reef looking for any shells she might want to take back with her to study, she noticed something shining gold between two rocks. Curious, Robin swam up to the glittering disk-shaped object and dislodged it from the rocks. Robin turned the disk around in her hands. She had discovered several human objects during her visits here, but she had never seen one this fascinating and peculiar. One side of the disk was solid gold with ornate engravings; the other side was rather plain but no less interesting, as there were four engravings equal distances apart and a needle on it. Robin spun the disk around, inspecting it further, and noticed that the needle always pointed in the same direction. She wondered if this was some sort of defect the water was having on the human object.

Robin broke the surface of the ocean and basked in the sunlight—she rarely actually rose to the surface, but when she did she was never disappointed. She loved the feeling of the sun and salty air on her face and the sight of the strange fish that swam through air, calling to one another like dolphins.

Remembering the gold disk in her hand, Robin broke from her reverie and looked at the face of the object. Despite her speculation, the needle on the disk remained pointing in one direction. Robin looked up in the direction the object was pointing in curious wonder. Was something on shore somehow causing it to point in the same direction?

Robin’s heart jumped when she looked toward the shore. On the sands of the coast she saw four human figures, in far more detail than she had ever observed. There appeared to be two males and two females, but she was too far away to see smaller details in their appearances. The taller man had brown hair and wore what appeared to be the likes of a crab shell, though it was colored in blue and silver. Both of the women were golden haired, but one was significantly taller than the other and held an air of authority while the shorter girl maintained a care-free persona.

It was the second man in the group that held her attention the longest, and not simply because the needle on the disk seemed to be pointing directly at him. His cobalt hair stood out from his companions, and, for reason’s Robin couldn’t quite explain to herself, she felt drawn to him. She felt as though she could trust him with her life.  
Robin suddenly realized the predicament she was in. The humans hadn’t spotted her yet, but it was only a matter of time before they did. She had been so invested in the mystery of the gold disk that she didn’t notice when she swam over the trench separating her waters from the humans, and she frantically scanned her surroundings for a place to hide. Not far to her left lay a collection of large rocks she figured she could hide behind. Robin swiftly and quietly approached the rocks and found that she could pull herself up onto one of the lower rocks and observe the humans without much risk of being spotted.

The short girl said something to the tall crustacean man, causing a look of disproval from him and snickering that turned into full laughter from the two women and the blue haired man. Robin noticed how well they all got along. She had never seen such real and natural joy and laughter in any living creature. Surely these humans held more value and intelligence than her father let on.

Robin was leaning closer to the shore when she heard a loud splash far to her right. The humans on the shore jumped at the sudden splash and looked for the source. Robin felt something grab her wrist and pull her underwater. Before she could yell out, something covered her mouth.

Once underwater, everything touching her disappeared. Robin spun around to view her attacker, only to be met with the face of a smiling white haired merman.

“Gods, Henry! I thought I was dead!” Robin exclaimed.

“Nya! You’re always fun to pick at, Robin,” Henry said. “But I’ve never had to venture this far to find you. What would Validar say if he knew?”

Robin narrowed her eyes at the mischievous merman. “You wouldn’t tell him. You enjoy trying to hex me too much to get me in trouble with my father,” she said. “And besides, if he learned about me being here then he would know that you know where I go when I swim off, and I don’t think he would be very pleased with that information.”

“Well, I guess you got me,” Henry laughed. “And here I was going to teach you about my new Over-Puffed Puffer Fish hex. It makes an excellent diversion.”

Robin’s face fell. “So that big splash was—”

“Yup! Just a time bomb in fish form!”

“Henry, why would you even want to explode a pufferfish?”

“Because your father asked me to bring you back to the castle, and you were getting a little too close to those humans for comfort. It was a rather spur of the moment hex. It’s nowhere near complete,” Henry paused for a moment then smacked his fist in the palm of his other hand. “Maybe I could work on actually letting the fish live so I can use the same one over and over again!”

“Yes, Henry, living fish are a good thing,” Robin said, placing her head in her free hand.

“Anyway, let’s get you back to the castle!” Henry grabbed Robin’s wrist and began to pull her away from the shore. Robin groaned out loud.

“My father didn’t happen to mention why exactly he wanted to see me, did he? You don’t know if it’s about these coastline excursions, do you?” Robin asked, not attempting to hide her annoyance.

“Nope, he didn’t tell me a word!” Henry said cheerfully, and he continued rambling about how useful his puffer fish could prove to be.

Robin decided to drop the subject. Henry was very honest with her. Despite his twisted sense of humor, he was one of her best friends and the closest thing she had to a brother. They continued away from the shore, and Robin remembered the golden disk in her other hand when they passed the spot where she pulled it out of the rocks. She looked at the object’s face to see that the needle was still pointing to the shore.

To the blue haired man.

Robin felt that there must be more to these humans than meets the eye, and she decided she would find out what it is and prove to her father that they weren’t to be avoided.

Her father. She’d almost forgotten why Henry was pulling her away. Her father wanted to see her. Robin clutched the gold disk to her chest.

She had a bad feeling about this meeting.  
_________________________________________________________

Robin reluctantly swam into the throne room her father occupied. Henry had offered to escort her in the room, but she declined. She told him as the entrance to the castle to let her escort herself, as it would be better for his own well being. If her father was going to reprimand her for swimming at the coast she knew Henry would be pulled into the discussion because of his knowledge of her most frequent swimming locations.

“Make sure you give him a hard time! When he’s angry you are, too, and you’re much more fun when you’re angry,” Henry had called as he swam away.

Robin’s mind ran over every possible reason Validar could be calling for a hearing with her. She hadn’t directly done anything to make him angry aside from swimming to the shore without permission, and he wouldn’t call her for a sudden meeting if that was the only thing on his mind.

Validar was sitting on his throne, silently watching Robin approach. He radiated negative energy, and his dark turquoise tail twitched in irritation. Validar was notorious for him impatience among the court, and was quick to anger when left to wait of any merperson, friend or not. Once Robin was in front of him he simply looked at her as if expecting an apology. Not receiving one, he began to speak.

“Why must it take so long to reach you, Robin,” Validar asked, not attempting to hide his ire. “You aren’t a child anymore. You have responsibilities to attend.”

“I’m sorry, Father,” Robin said, her eyes downcast. “I’ll try to stay closer to the castle in the future.”

“Unfortunately, Robin, I don’t think you will be able to venture out of the castle for a very long time,” Validar said in a matter of fact tone. “As I said you have certain responsibilities you must attend, starting today.”

Robin looked at her father blankly, determined not to show any reaction to his words. “Might I ask what these responsibilities are?” she questioned.

“My daughter, you have heard the tale of the great beast Grima I’m certain,” he said. When Robin nodded in confusion, he continued. “Legend tells of a creature that has the capacity to destroy all in its wake that can strike fear into the hearts of the bravest mermen in existence. A creature that is so feared, its name has been lost, for merfolk fear to speak of it. This nameless monstrosity is said to be awakened when the great forces of Grima and Naga join as one,” a sickening smile spread across Validar’s face, causing Robin’s stomach to churn. That smile usually preceded the fruits of his twisted mind. “I aim to bring this beast to life and overpower it. I will use it to rule all of the seas and lands. Merfolk will revere me, and the few humans left in existence will quiver at my name.”

Robin remained silent. She knew her father was not finished speaking and was hoping she would interrupt him. She had difficulty maintaining an unaffected expression. Was he insane for wanting such a beast?

“This is where you come in, Robin,” Validar continued. “The birthmark on the side of your tail, the Mark of Grima, proves that you possess the sacred ability to raise Grima from his slumber, which is where our plan will begin.”

Robin did not like where this was going, and she tightly gripped the gold disk at her side. She had forgotten about the disk while her father was talking, and she suddenly remembered that he should not see her artifact since his current topic was not on her frequent trips to the surface. Slowly, so as not to draw attention to the motion, she moved the hand that held the disk behind her back. She was not considering the shiny properties of the disk, however, and it glinted and glared brightly from the change in lighting.

“What is that in your hand, Robin?” Validar inquired, having been distracted from his thoughts by a bright light. She winced at his sudden topic change and silently cursed herself. “I’ve never seen a craft of that sort. Where did you find it?”

“I found it while out for my swim,” she looked at Validar. He narrowed his eyes.

“You’ve been to the shore again haven’t you, Robin? I have told you time and time again that the surface is where merfolk go if they want to be speared by mindless beasts,” Validar’s rage slowly filled the room. Robin’s tardiness along with her blatant disregard for his rules caused a fury that Validar didn’t try to control.

“Humans are not mindless beasts!” Robin was losing her temper, now. “They actually appear to be quite complex, which you would know if you would listen to—”

“I will not be spoken back to in such a manner!” Validar was almost yelling now. “You are too important to my plans for world conquest to be risking your life to humans for nothing more than leisure!”

“World conquest?” Robin was beginning to match his tone. “Do you even hear yourself? You can’t be happy with the ten kingdoms you already govern? Such power will get to your head, Father. You will be blinded and fall before you reach your peak! Many will try to overthrow you until one succeeds! There’s a reason no one has ruled the world yet. Power breeds arrogance, arrogance breeds complacency, and complacency leads to defeat! You are crazy if you think this master plan will work!”

“I will have none of your slanderous assumptions!” Validar stated. “Until we find this source of Naga to bind with Grima, you will awaken Grima. To do so you need the resources that Lord Gangrel may provide. Therefore, you will remain in this castle at all times, and in three days time you are to wed Gangrel as payment for his cooperation.”

“Marry Gangrel?!” Robin was absolutely livid now. “You would marry me off to some merman like a mere sack of gold as simple payment for your ‘master plan’? If mother were here, she would—”

“YOUR MOTHER IS NOT HERE!” Validar, having completely lost his temper, yelled at her. Robin let a heavy moment of silence pass for her father’s echoing voice to subside.

“And whose fault is that,” Robin said in almost a whisper. She glared at Validar.

Validar sounded as if he were losing his patience with a small child. “Your mother was lost to the human world, Robin; we’ve been over this—”

“No, Father,” Robin said, her tone accusatory and rising steadily as her anger against him rose. “You’ve been over this. She swam away to the shore to escape you. So you can throw out this notion that humans are murderers because you are the one who drove her away. You wanted to use her in your conquest for power. Just like me. I refuse to be nothing more than a pawn,” Robin turned to leave.

“Don’t you dare turn your back on me, Robin,” Validar was yelling again. “Your engagement will be announced tomorrow evening in front of the court. And if you dare to leave these castle grounds between now and the wedding, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Robin asked, exasperated. She turned her head to look at him. “What else can you do? Hold me prisoner? Kill me? Because apparently I’m already one, and I would rather be the other.”

Temporarily at a loss for words, Validar stared at her with furious eyes. There was no doubt she was her mother’s child. Robin turned and fumed out of the throne room, the door echoing with a loud boom behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Robin sank into a plush chair in the castle library, books littering the floor and tables in the large room. She often found peace in the walls of her mother’s library, and she spent more time here than in her own room. Tables littered with maps and spell books were the usual subjects of Robin’s interest, and she often practiced newly learned spells here. The loss of one too many marble busts resulted in the spreading of targets throughout the room.

Today Robin’s subject of interest was not a particular map or tome. She had just spent the past several hours with Tharja scouring books for more information on Grima, Naga, and the Great Beast as well as any legal documents that might let her escape from her arranged marriage with Gangrel. So far neither of them had found anything relevant in the floor to ceiling shelves, but Tharja did find an interesting book about the many uses for mollusks in spells. She had temporarily given up the search and decided to let her frustrations out by practicing her magic on targets.

“So, by combining crushed shell of a mollusk with that of a crab, you can thicken your skin into an armor,” Tharja was reading aloud to herself. Her dark hair obscured her face.   
“That could prove to be useful. I think I’ll test it on another subject first.”

Robin blasted another target with a ball of energy. “Please, Tharja. This isn’t helping. While you may find your mollusk research fascinating, I’ve not found anything in the legal books that will help me and my situation with Gangrel or my father’s plans, and I don’t want to be the cause of the world’s destruction.”

Tharja didn’t look up from her book. “Well, Henry and I could always arrange the untimely demise of Gangrel, and I don’t think you will be the cause of destruction. It will be more along the lines of Validar bringing ruin upon himself.”

“And everyone else,” Robin muttered as she flung out another spell.

Tharja didn’t seem to hear that statement. She had already moved on from her mollusk book and selected another tome from the shelf. She read for a couple of minutes before looking at Robin. “To the ordinary eye no one would even be able to tell you have this so called ‘Mark of Grima.’ Frankly, I’m surprised Validar would even notice such a small detail, considering how much time he has spent with you.”

Robin looked at the right side of her tail. Because of the dark plum coloring of her tail it was difficult to make out the Mark. But it was undeniable. A slightly darker purple marked the difference between her own tail and the six eyed birthmark. A marking that was the source of her current problems. A mark that was going to destroy the world.

Robin cut her eyes at Tharja. “The only reason you know it’s there is because you’re a stalker,” She sulked in her chair and expressed her conclusion about the mark. “This thing is a curse.”

“First off, I’m not a stalker, you just happen to be of extreme interest to me,” Tharja said, a less than pleasant smile creeping across her face. Robin figured Henry would disagree, but she didn’t get to respond before Tharja continued. “I bet I know more about you than you do. Every night you brush your hair seventeen times before braiding it for bed. It takes you approximately fourteen minutes to fall asleep. When you wake up in the mornings you stretch, roll over, and stretch again before getting out of bed, unbraiding your hair and brushing it nineteen times in preparation for the day.” She wore a very smug expression.

Robin stared at her. She knew that Tharja had an unhealthy obsession, but she didn’t realize it was this bad.

“And I don’t know if I’d call that mark a curse exactly. Apparently it gives you an abnormal amount of magic power, which would explain how you pick up on new spells so easily,” Tharja mused. Robin didn’t respond.

“Maybe if I can control you then you can’t awaken the beast,” Tharja picked up a white thread.

“What are you—,” Robin paused, realizing what the white thread was. “Tharja why do you have a strand of my hair?”

“I was going to use it for a more…personal spell, but I suppose this is more important,” Tharja said, not bothering to hide her disappointment at the notion.

Robin was having none of Tharja’s nonsense. Surely the magic of the Mark was stronger than some spell the dark mage could conjure up. Reaching the end of her patience, Robin hurled a small blast of energy at the hair, incinerating it, and accidentally demolishing a marble bust in the process. “No mind controlling spells without consent, Tharja. No…other spells, either.”

“You should probably work on your aim more,” Tharja looked at the rock scraps then to the singed hair. “Well it isn’t as if I don’t have a collection of your hair in my room. I guess my own plans will have to wait.”

Robin leaned her head back to rest it on the arm of the chair. During her venting she had managed to turn sideways in it. She gave an exasperated sigh. There was no reasoning with Tharja, and the two were getting absolutely nowhere with her current issues. She was going to have to find some other way to outwit her father and his plans. She didn’t have a problem with sneaking out of the castle, but she didn’t know where she could go where Validar wouldn’t be able to find her.

She picked up the gold disk and turned it in her hands again. The arrow was still pointing in the shore’s direction. If only she could follow the needle on this disk. She was impossibly curious about the four humans she saw earlier that day, especially the blue haired man. If only she could leave the sea and join the human world. Then she could prove the worth of the humans, avoid an unwanted wedding, and demolish Validar’s plans of world domination. It was a solve all temporary fix.

Robin froze. Of course. She simply needed to leave. The human world would buy her the time she needed to devise a course of action against her father. Robin hurriedly rose from her seat and swam across the library, confusing Tharja.

“What are you doing?” Tharja called after her.

“I’m looking for a spell that can turn a mermaid into a human,” Robin was scanning the books on the shelf quickly, looking for any lead. “I need to leave this place. I need to go to the human world.”

“Robin, I know I said that you were good at magic, and the Mark amplifies that ability, but don’t you think a spell that completely changes your body so drastically will take some time to learn?” asked Tharja.

“I have my mother’s blood in me, and she was a fast learner. Between that and the Mark’s gift, I’m sure I could learn a spell like that within three days’ time.” Robin said, more to herself than Tharja.

Tharja tried reasoning with Robin again. “I don’t even think my abilities combined with Henry’s could come remotely close to a spell like that in three days. Even Validar would be cutting things close, and he’s the strongest mage around here.”

“I have to try, Tharja,” Robin looked at the dark haired mermaid. “If not for me, for my mother. She would never have allowed things to get this far, and what I feel toward humans she did, too.”

Tharja looked at Robin in disbelief, but Robin ignored the stare. There had to be some sort of useful information here; her mother had spent her entire life adding to the already vast collection of tomes. Robin continued to search, and Tharja eventually joined in, muttering something about not being the only crazy fish in this part of the sea.

She had wandered farther back into the library than she had ever been before; every bust and book had some form of moss growing on it, and the water was noticeably cooler. She found several books on the human anatomy and how to temporarily transform into a fish, but she hadn’t found any leads on transforming into a human. As she was beginning to lose hope, she noticed a table that had never caught her attention before. It had markings identical to the gold disk she found on the coast, and in the center was an indentation that looked to be about the same size as the object itself. Curious, she placed the golden object in the hole, aligning the similar characters with one another.

As soon as the disk was settled, the room began to tremble, and the floor beside the table began to move. Any books still on the shelves after Robin and Tharja’s raid fell to the floor while busts of important historical merfolk floated to the bottom of the room.

When the room finally stopped shaking, Robin and Tharja were presented with a large hole in the floor. The two mermaids looked at each other in slight disbelief.

“Well, you did say you needed to leave,” Tharja said.

Robin glared at her. “I meant that I need to leave the ocean. I know where all of the secret doors are, Tharja.”

“Do you really think you will be able to escape the castle unnoticed? Validar is going to have every door, crack, and window to this castle on high security. This may be your only way out.”

Robin nodded her head slightly. She hated to admit that Tharja was right, but her father would undoubtedly have her on high alert. She was honestly surprised that the guards hadn’t barged into the library after the minor earthquake she had just caused.

Robin turned away from Tharja to face the path. It was relatively large and appeared to go almost straight down, but it was too dark to be certain. Steeling her resolve, Robin grabbed a lantern from the table with the gold disk and turned back to Tharja.

“You don’t have to come with me, you know. The more you know the more danger you’ll be in with Validar.”

“Since when am I afraid of dark and dangerous situations?” Tharja raised an eyebrow, moving toward the path. “I find them extremely entertaining.”

“If you’re not afraid of the dark then go ahead and start. I’m taking this disk with me, and if placing it here opened up this path, removing it may close the door.” Tharja began to swim down the path, but lingered a short distance from the entrance, waiting for Robin. Seeing that her friend was in place, Robin quickly dislodged the disk and swam to toward Tharja. Despite her hunch, removing the gold object didn’t cause anything abnormal to happen.

“I guess you didn’t have to worry about that door closing behind you,” Tharja said once Robin was beside her.

Robin nodded. As if a secret passageway in her beloved library wasn’t strange enough, something about this whole situation felt strange to her. She couldn’t quite place the source of these feelings and decided the best way to discover it would be to continue down the tunnel.

She began to swim into the black hole with Tharja following silently beside her. Her small lamp did little to reveal their surroundings, and a small part of Robin was thankful. An eerie silence fell around them, and she was not very keen on learning about what may be lingering in the shadows. The steep cave path was slowly leveling off. After what Robin judged to be about five minutes of swimming, Tharja grabbed her hand. There was a faint rumbling around them. Afraid of a cave in Robin swam quickly down the path until the vibrating water was too strong for them to move any further. Robin’s lamp went out, and she groped at the side of the tunnel until she felt cold rock walls.

“Tharja?” Robin called after the rumbling finally stopped.

There was no response.

She cursed herself as her mind jumped to the worst case scenario—Tharja was dead. How could she lose one of her closest friends on an excursion so reckless? She felt so stupid. She should have known better than to drag Tharja into her problems.

Her heart started to race at the idea of being stuck in a dark tunnel, alone, with no source of light, and being responsible for the loss of her friend. Her breathing was getting faster and faster, but she couldn’t catch her breath.

“So much for that lamp, huh?” the voice was directly behind her right ear, and even though the voice was familiar, Robin screamed in fright. The voice chuckled behind her.

“Gods, Tharja, why didn’t you answer?! I thought you were dead!” Robin clutched her chest, and turned to the voice even if she couldn’t see it.

“I thought this would be more fun,” was Tharja’s only response.

“You are absolutely terrible. If we make it out of this alive, I’m going to kill you myself,” Robin turned back to the direction they were originally moving in. She frowned in the darkness. “How are we supposed to know where we are going without any light?”

No sooner than she had said the word “light” Robin heard another soft rumbling. She closed her eyes and braced herself, thinking that the rock walls would surely fall down on her now. However, nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see a line of soft green lights dotting the darkness on either side of the cave walls.

“Ask and you shall receive,” Tharja muttered under her breath.

“Well I’m certainly not going to complain,” Robin retorted.

The two continued down the path, making sure to stay closer to each other than they did before in case anything else happened. Because the green orbs on the walls were their only source of light, Robin could not judge time very well at all. They could have been swimming for five minutes or five hours and she wouldn’t know the difference. The only indicator of the passing time was the slowly growing edge in Robin’s stomach. She hadn’t eaten anything since that morning, and her discussion with her father had stayed her hunger, but now that she had calmed down, her appetite was returning at full force. She had no food, and she didn’t see that she would be able to find any in the near future. Everything looked the same; solid rock all around them with well placed lighting. Tharja’s black hair was tinted green and Robin’s white hair glowed bright enough to almost be considered a light source.

After what felt like an eternity, and both Robin and Tharja’s fins were beginning to tire from the excessive swimming, Robin saw a black spot in the distance. Either the lights ran out or they were finally arriving at their destination. Robin hoped it was the latter. As they got closer to the end of passage, Robin could tell that they were indeed approaching another room. Curious of what was so important that it needed a secret door and how it had any connection with her golden disk, she sped into the room fast enough that Tharja had difficulty keeping up.

Robin stopped swimming once she was in the room, and she and Tharja were too occupied trying to catch their breath to observe their surroundings. A loud thud sounded behind the two mermaids, and they looked to see that the doorway they came through was now closed. They had reached a dead end. Robin thought they would be surrounded in darkness, but she was surprised to see a faint blue light originating from a basin a few yards in front of her.

“Of course. Things just keep getting more and more fun,” Tharja said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She flopped down on the floor in exhaustion. “I know I wanted you to be more adventurous but this is a little too much.”

Robin was too tired to come up with a snarky response. Instead, she slowly approached the basin. She looked for the source of the ethereal blue light. In front of the basin, Robin could tell that the light was not as mystical as she originally thought; a hole in the ceiling cast a beam on the basin, and the glass surface reflected the light. However, in the center of the basin was another round indentation that would perfectly hold Robin’s disk.

“Do you really want to risk opening another trap door again?” Tharja asked as Robin moved the disk over the basin.

Robin turned to her with a slight smirk on her face. “Well, we’ve come this far. May as well go all the way.”

With that mindset she placed the disk in the hole just as she had before. However, nothing happened. She looked at the way the light reflected and remembered how her father had discovered her treasure. Of course. The reflection.

Growing more excited, Robin turned the disk over so that the gold side was facing up. The light from the ceiling reflected off the disk, and filled the basin with a warm golden glow that soon encompassed the entire room.

Slightly startled by the sudden bright light, Robin swam back toward Tharja. The beam from the ceiling was growing larger and larger, and the basin itself was so bright that Robin couldn’t make much of anything out. All she could see was that a large shape was forming on the basin.

The basin suddenly stopped glowing. Sitting on top of it, holding Robin’s disk, was a very odd looking mermaid. She had long green hair and the fins along her tail resembled sea leaves. Once Robin’s eyes adjusted she could see that the mermaid’s face and body appeared to belong to that of a young mergirl, but her eyes held centuries of life. The young-but-not-young mermaid looked cheerfully around the cavern.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in this place!” the odd mermaid’s voice sounded as young as she looked, and she was very giggly and cheerful. “Lady Tiki has had me working for her for what feels like years. I’m happy to swim around and do errands for her!” She stretched on top of the basin, and her eyes settled on Robin and Tharja for the first time. “Oh! You must be who I’ve come to retrieve!”

“I beg your pardon,” Robin said, more than slightly confused. “Might I ask who you are? What are you doing here? And could I please get my disk back?”

The mermaid seemed to just notice that she was holding Robin’s golden treasure. “Of course you may! Oh, I seem to have forgotten my manners!” she giggled. “My name is Nowi, and I have come to bring the bearer of this—” she held up the disk before handing it to Robin “—to Lady Tiki. Might I ask the names of my travelers?”

“Tharja,” the black haired and black tailed mermaid mumbled. It was obvious that the bubbly personality of Nowi was rubbing Tharja the wrong way. Her eyes were downcast, and Robin could feel the negative energy she was radiating.

“I’m Robin,” the white haired mermaid stammered out, still stunned from the strange mermaid’s sudden appearance, and her mind was racing. Lady Tiki was a sea dragon who was almost legendary. No one knew of her location, and stories say that her magic is strong enough to perform any kind of miracle. Does that mean that this mermaid is actually a sea dragon, too? Robin held her disk to her chest. How had this small object caused so much to happen in one day? “What does Lady Tiki want with us?”

“Well, I think it’s mostly you since you seem to be the one who possesses that thing,” she pointed the object in Robin’s hand. “But she didn’t really tell me what she wanted, just who she wanted, and that’s you!”

Before either Robin or Tharja could fully respond, Nowi was pulling them toward an especially black spot in the wall. Tharja bristled at the cheery mermaid’s touch, and both mermaids were physically hesitant when Nowi swam directly at the wall. They braced for impact, but were surprised when they swam straight through the wall and into the open ocean.

Robin looked around and saw a jagged formation of rocks to her left. Pieces of wood surrounded the rocks from instances of human ships meeting their demise. “We are at Alm’s Point,” Robin muttered to herself. She was more than amazed. Alm’s Point was at least two and a half leagues away from the castle. How long had they been in that cavern?

“I really don’t like this, Robin,” Tharja murmured in her ear, but Robin ignored her. There was a small voice in her head that said to trust Nowi, that she would bring her to what she needed, and what she needed now was an escape. She gripped the disk tightly and held it to her chest, all the while thinking of how lucky she was to have found the key to her future and the path that would lead her there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gave me a hard time, and I hope it doesn't cause you to stop reading. I promise I've got better stuff coming, I've just got to get there. I tried to fix some of my pacing (I think it's still off) on this round.
> 
> I'm very surprised at how many people are liking this story! I'm sure someone else could write it better, but I haven't found a Mermaid AU yet and decided to do it myself.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Robin was astounded by how fast Nowi was leading her and Tharja through the water, especially with the mermaid’s small size. Rocks and reefs came and went from Robin’s sight faster than she had ever seen. They had already passed any rock or coral formations that Robin recognized and were now swimming—or, rather, being dragged by the sea dragon—at an alarming rate. A warm yellow glow surrounded the three, and it almost seemed like they were being carried by some nonexistent current, and a very strong one at that.

Tharja was still sulking in the back of the group, and she was eyeing the glow that surrounded the three mermaids as if it would dissipate if she glared hard enough. Her shoulders were tense as she leaned toward Robin.

“Remind me, again, why we are going along with this Nowi character? You know I can’t handle this much positive energy. What reasoning do you have to keep going? What happens when your father finds out you left the castle? It’s not like we’re swimming remotely close to the shore. We are getting into deep water,” she murmured in Robin’s ear, not attempting to hide her annoyance.

“It’s the only lead I have at all to solving the issues at hand. We’re too far away from the castle at this point for my father to be much of a worry. I have a gut feeling this is the right thing to do,” Robin said. She knew her thinking was illogical. The safest thing to do would have been to find some sort of legal statement to avoid her union with Gangrel. However, a new mystery was holding her attention.

“So we’re following your curiosity,” Tharja stated. “You know, curiosity killed the catfish.”  
Robin glared at the other mermaid. “Yes, but it’s difficult to learn anything new without some level of curiosity. Would you just let me follow my instincts? You don’t even have to be here. You could have stayed in the library.”

Tharja didn’t respond. She spent a few more minutes alternating glares between Nowi and their gold aura. She raised her voice loud enough for Nowi to hear. “Hey, what’s with the yellow glowing stuff?”

At first Nowi didn’t realize that Tharja was talking to her; the young mermaid had been expressing her interest in seahorses and what impact their home life had on other fish. She turned her head to look at Tharja before speaking cheerfully.

“Oh, this? It’s sea dragon magic!” Nowi’s voice had almost a musical quality to it. “Pretty neat huh?”

“How does it work?” Robin asked. She had suspected that the glow was a magic specific to sea dragons.

“I’m not entirely sure. It has something to do with energy, and it lets us travel around a lot faster than regular swimming would. Lady Tiki is better at it, though,” Nowi responded.

The wheels in Robin’s head began to turn. The manipulation of energy made sense. “So it’s magic that essentially clings on to any source of energy like light or motion? You use this magic to travel along energy, not just moving with it but using it as a catalyst for transportation,” Robin was utterly fascinated. Then she came to a realization. “Wait. That’s how you materialized in front of us isn’t it? The extra light from the glass in the basin. You used it.”

“Well, nobody’s ever actually said how the spell works, but that sounds about right. And yeah, I used this spell when I met you,” Nowi said. Every fish that came too close to them seemed to bounce off some invisible barrier. Even though the mermaid appeared to pay no attention to where they were going, their course never changed. It almost seemed as if the spell had a mind of its own.

“You said that Tiki was better at using this spell than you are. How so? You seem to have it pretty well mastered,” Robin said. She looked at her surroundings. They had swum at least three times the distance they would normally have from using their fins alone. How could anyone else be better at this spell?

“Well, for one thing, I have to stay with the heart of the spell in order for it to work. Lady Tiki can transport anyone or anything without being close to the spell at all. And her magic is way stronger. Her magic works ten times faster than mine,” said Nowi. She paused for a moment then giggled. “I have a lot to learn before my abilities can even compare to Lady Tiki’s.”

Tharja spoke up from behind Robin. “How old are you? You look extremely young, but this kind of magic is extremely advanced.”

Nowi thought about the question for a moment before responding. “After so long the years start to run together. Let’s see. I celebrated my nine hundredth a little while back, so… about one thousand? At least.”

Robin and Tharja would have halted in shock had Nowi not been dragging them along. Robin really didn’t know what to be more surprised about. The fact that Nowi wasn’t confident in remembering her exact age, the apparent lack of distress at the matter, or that she was more than one thousand years old. She settled on the last option.

“How are you that old?” Robin asked.

“Why don’t you know how old you are?” Tharja asked. Apparently she and Robin were thinking   
the same things.

“If you’re a thousand, how old is Tiki?” Robin asked. If Tiki was so much more advanced than Nowi, she couldn’t imagine how many centuries or millennia she had lived.

“Whoa, now. Slow down the questions. I didn’t think that would be what surprised you the most. And you can ask Lady Tiki some of those things yourself. See? We’ve arrived,” Nowi said as she finally faced forward.

The first thing that crossed Robin’s mind was how far they had traveled. Their conversation with Nowi must have lasted longer than she thought. Over the course of what Robin guessed to be about an hour, they had swum half of a day’s journey. The next thing Robin noticed was the large rock cavern they were now facing. The obsidian stone glittered brightly even in the dim lighting of the deep sea. The entrance seemed to radiate an energy and warmth that filled Robin with hope. Nowi’s spell had run its course now, and the three mermaids swam slowly into the cavern.

As soon as they entered the cave, the same lights that led Robin and Tharja to the glass basin led them to a large room, and the green lighting illuminated the specks on the black walls in an ethereal manner. However, their new destination was warm and inviting. The room was beautifully decorated with a small lounging area to one side and shelves lining every inch of the walls. Countless ingredients and spells resided within this cave, but that isn’t what held Robin’s attention, for she was fixated on the figure in the center of the room.

The mermaid’s back was to the visitors, but Robin could tell that she was indeed a sea dragon. Her tail was long and luxurious; flashes of pink highlighted the red coloring and complimented her green hair beautifully. She turned to face Robin, and it was apparent that this sea dragon was significantly older than their young companion. If Nowi had lived for more than one thousand years, Tiki must have been alive for at least three thousand.

Robin began to speak, but Tiki acted first. “I see you have found them. Good work, Nowi,” A warm smile spread across her face. “Come, sit and eat. You must be hungry, and we have much to discuss.”

“No, thank you. We couldn’t possibly—” Robin began to object that she wasn’t hungry and she wanted answers, but her stomach disagreed. She heard Tharja’s stomach grumble as well. 

Everyone laughed lightly at the situation, though Tharja’s laugh seemed slightly forced. Robin sat in an extremely comfortable chair, and instant relief washed over her body. She could barely lift her fins. Her stomach complained loudly as she stuffed a tuna roll in her mouth. She looked over to Tharja to see that her friend had also wasted no time in eating. Robin couldn’t tell if the food was just that good or if she was just that hungry. She settled on a mixture of both, and as she began to eat more slowly, Tiki began speaking.

“Now that you’ve eaten something, let’s discuss the reason you are here. While I know that you are meant to be here, I do not know what brought you.”

Robin swallowed her food and presented her gold disk to the ancient mermaid. “I believe this has something to do with it. Can you tell me what it is?”

Tiki reached for the object, and stared intently at it upon making contact. “Ah, yes. This is an object that humans use when they are lost. It helps them find their way home. I believe they call it a compass. However, this is a special compass. The will of Naga rests faintly in this small treasure. It’s something that cannot be found by anyone, but is rather something that finds someone. And it has chosen you, Robin, princess of Plegia and bearer of Grima.”

Robin stiffened visibly when Tiki addressed her by name and title. “We never formally introduced ourselves earlier. While I apologize for my earlier rudeness, how do you know who I am?”

“Your face is familiar to me, and I am not blind to the mark you bear,” Tiki said. Her voice remained soft and gentle. “You seek a means of escaping your destiny?”

“Lady Tiki, I refuse to be a tool. I refuse to believe that my fate lies in being married off to the highest bidder and then being forced to awaken a destructive beast. Is there nothing you can do to help me? A spell to remove this mark, or a way to avoid this marriage?” Robin urgently grasped the sea dragon’s hand. “Or even a way to join the human world, just to buy some time to develop a plan. Please. My father—no, Validar—will destroy this world if he has his way. I need to stop him.”

Tiki looked at Robin with sad eyes. “Even if that mark were to be removed, the magical effects it grants you would not disappear, and I cannot help you with this marriage,” Tiki said, and despair began filling Robin’s heart once again.

“Robin, many merfolk before you have come in desperate need of something. Each and every one of them had the same ferocity in their eyes, but yours are different. Your passion matches that of only one before you. Someone who spoke of similar issues but without such urgency,” Tiki spoke as if she were in a dream.

“What do you mean?” Robin asked.

“Not too long ago, another mermaid sought me out to escape her husband and his malicious ambition. She wanted to prove that humans and merfolk held the same worth. I gave her a spell that would set her free, but only at the expense of that which she held most dear,” Tiki spoke facing Robin, but her mind was in the past.

Robin suspected who this mermaid was, but she needed to confirm her thoughts before jumping to conclusions. “Who was she?”

Tiki’s eyes focused on Robin. “Her name escapes me, but the cold whiteness of her hair contrasted the warm brown color in her eyes. She was a queen.”

“The Queen of Plegia has been missing for over a decade,” Tharja said. “You speak as if she were only here last month.”

“Time runs differently for sea dragons. You live for three thousand years and tell me the difference in ten years and ten months,” Tiki responded to Tharja’s remark. “Long life is not the blessing many believe it to be. I have loved and lost more than you can imagine.”

“So it was my mother,” Robin said quietly, more to herself than anyone else. She was suddenly very glad she was sitting down. She understood why her mother left, but what about Robin? Was she another reason her mother decided to leave? Validar said that humans had captured her. “But Validar always said—”

“Robin do you really think Validar would tell the truth?” Tharja asked bluntly.

“Well, no, but I always thought that he had driven her away. She went to the surface for solace. I just thought she was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Robin said.

“This was hers,” Tiki handed Robin the compass. “She used the power of Naga to willingly abandon her life in the ocean. She wanted to bring you with her, Robin, but she was too pressed for time. She barely made it to the shore as it was.”

“I remember that mermaid!” Nowi chirped up. She tried to brighten the mood. “She was really sweet, and she talked about how incredibly smart and beautiful her daughter was.”

Robin’s eyes felt hot. “After all this time…” she looked at Tiki. “Could she still be alive after all?”

“That I cannot say. She lost possession of the compass, and I am unable to find her,” Tiki said.

“But I thought you said the compass chooses its owner? How could she lose it?” Robin asked.

“It is possible that the compass made a mistake. Perhaps it was looking for you all along. Either way, it’s yours now, and it will lead you where your pure heart is needed,” Tiki said. “With it as your guide, you will find happiness, and you will bring peace.”

“But this mark I bear will bring nothing but destruction.”

“That mark you bear holds nothing to the strength of love.”

Those words settled on the ears of all four mermaids. Silence enveloped them for a few minutes as Robin processed what Tiki meant. She had always felt lost and out of place. That feeling of despair intensified when her mother “died.” She was a misfit. Her only friends were Henry and Tharja, and even then she was the odd one. Her mind flashed to when she found the compass. It had pointed to more than the shore. It pointed to a human. Would she find her place with the cobalt haired man?

“What about the Great Beast of legend?” Robin asked.

“The Beast can only rise when Grima and Naga are bound together. They cannot be bound if they are not awake. Since you are his vessel, Grima cannot rise if you are not present at the awakening ceremony,” Tiki spoke as if she were soothing a child. “The world will not face peril if you refuse to cooperate with Validar.”

“If that’s true, then I ask for a means of joining the humans on land.”

Tiki looked pained. “Robin, I hope you realize that the only spell I can give you will cost what you hold most dear. It isn’t always a material object, and I do not know what it is.”

“If it means I can prevent world destruction, I will pay the price, whatever it may be,” Robin was determined now, and she looked Tiki in the eyes. Robin knew she couldn’t escape her destiny for eternity, but maybe she could run from it until Validar’s demise.

“Very well,” Tiki sighed. She reached over the numerous empty plates on the table and grabbed a lidded vase. With the vase directly in front of her, Tiki removed the lid, releasing a soft blue light. She waved her hand over the vase and pulled it up like she had a barnacle on a string. However, what was at the end of the nonexistent string was not a barnacle. It was a blue drop that radiated so much magic energy that Robin’s body hummed in resonance.

Tiki gestured to the golden disk in Robin’s hand, and she willingly gave Tiki the object. Tiki turned the compass over so that the face was directly under the blue drop. She slowly lowered the drop to the compass, and a blinding white-blue light filled the room. Suddenly the light was gone, and the once white face of the compass now held a soft blue glow.

“For this spell to be executed safely, you must use it at the surface. When you reach the land, hold this to your heart and pray to Naga,” Tiki returned the compass to Robin.

Robin held the compass; it now felt warm and comforting. “My greatest thanks, Lady Tiki.”

“I only wish I could help all those who seek me as easily as you,” she responded with a smile. “Be wary of the ocean once you are on land; Validar may be able to find you if he knows you are in the sea. You must reach the surface by sunup. I will assist you since we are far from the shore. But first, is the merman in the shadows a friend or foe?”

Robin and Tharja turned to the shadowed entrance to the room in shock. Had they actually been followed? Then they heard a familiar laugh.

“Nya ha! I guess a sea dragon’s senses are better than any old mermaid’s,” the voice was getting closer. A white haired merman with a cheery expression swam toward them. “How’re you two doing?”

Robin released a breath she was unaware of holding. “Henry. It’s just you.”

“How the hell did you find us?” Tharja glared.

“Well, I can’t let my favorite lady friend swim around without having some way of finding her! Plus I needed an excuse to test my tracking hex,” Henry looked at Tharja. “I thought you’d be more excited about being a test subject.”

“Henry, you hexed me without permission,” Tharja said.

“You’re one to talk,” Robin muttered under her breath. Tharja cut her eyes at Robin.

“I guess that explains my uneasiness at coming here, but why did you follow us?” Tharja asked the merman.

“Well, after the castle got shook up, the guards were freaking out and worried about the princess’s safety since she’s suddenly important to Validar. I may or may not have used your hex hair stash to create a body double of Robin to calm them down. I knew you two were busy. Clone Robin went to her room, so I went to the library, but you weren’t there. So, I tracked you, Tharja. I’ve been swimming all night. That body double lasts for maybe a few hours at the most.”

Tharja grabbed the closest book off a shelf and began hitting Henry on his shoulder. “You used my hex hair stash?! Do you know how long it took me to collect those?!”

Henry laughed between smacks. “Aww, c’mon, Tharja. It’s not like you won’t get them back!”

Nowi was apparently amused with the situation, and she began to giggle in time to Henry’s laughter. Robin, however, felt as if she had been punched.

“He swam all night,” she said to Tiki. “The guards are probably looking for me now.”

“We haven’t much time,” the sea dragon responded. “I will send you to the closest shoreline I can.” Before she even finished speaking a familiar golden light surrounded Robin, Tharja, and Henry.

“See! You get to see Lady Tiki’s magic at work after all!” Nowi giggled.

Annoyance marked Tharja’s face and mild confusion crossed Henry’s as the golden current swept them out of Tiki’s home.

“May Naga be with you all,” Tiki’s voice echoed in their heads as they left the cave. “And Robin, have faith in yourself.”

________

Tiki’s transportation spell was indeed faster than Nowi’s; they covered the same distance in half the time. Henry overheard most of what Tiki had said, but Robin and Tharja had to fill him in on a few details.

“What do you mean I missed the food?” Henry complained to Tharja. “You mean I swim all night and don’t even get a stinking bite of seaweed?”

“That’s beside the point,” Tharja said. Her lack of sleep was apparent in her tone of voice; she was likely to hex Henry for breathing the wrong way at this point. “We’ve got fifty different issues right now, and you’re going to focus on food?”

“But I’m hungry.”

“Then starve.”

“Alright you two, that’s enough,” Robin turned to them. “Gods, I swear you act like an old married couple sometimes.”

“We do not,” they both said in unison.

“Well whether you do or not is irrelevant at the moment. I see some of the palace guards in the distance,” Robin noted anxiously. “I hope we make it to the shore in time.”

“I think we will,” Tharja assured her. “We are more than half way there.”

“Yeah, but you’re not gonna make it to where you like to go. It’ll be unfamiliar terrain,” Henry said.

“And if they find you with me, things are going to be rough for both of you,” Robin looked at them worriedly. “I don’t want Validar to cause you any harm. You do realize that both of you are my closest friends, right? Maybe even my only friends for that matter. Don’t let me be the cause of your troubles.”

“Okay, now, the deep part of the ocean is behind us. If you want to talk like that we need to go there,” Henry laughed.

“Robin, you worry too much. Don’t you think we’ve thought of how to avoid trouble?” Tharja said. “After we see you to the shore we are going directly to your preferred shore. If and when the palace guards come we’ll tell them that we wanted to talk to you during the middle of the night and found you missing. We left the palace without notifying the guards because we thought that the guards would be too conspicuous and scare you away. The shore just so happened to be the best place to look, and you weren’t there.”

Robin had to admit that the plan sounded well thought out. She calmed down slightly and focused on swimming ahead, the rest of their journey commencing in silence.

By the time they reached the shore, the sun was trying to rise; the three could see soft red light coming from the surface. Tiki’s spell led them to a shore quite different from the one Robin was familiar with. There was no colorful coral, and large rocks dotted the underwater seascape.

Suddenly, Robin was very nervous, not about being caught by her father, but about joining the humans. She knew it was where she belonged, but could she really leave behind Henry and Tharja, or the sights that held the memories of her mother?

“I’m really going to miss you,” Henry said, catching her off with his serious tone. “I mean it. You’ve really brought happiness into my life.”

Tharja rested a hand on her shoulder. “Robin, I really don’t want you to go. But more than that, I want you to find happiness. I know you won’t find that here.”

Robin lost the remainder of her self control. She flung her arms around the necks of her best friends and held them as if her life was on the line. But in a way, it was. Being used by Validar held no life for her, and Henry and Tharja knew that.

“Thank you,” she said before pulling away from them.

“We’ll leave after you cast the spell,” Tharja said.

Robin nodded and swam to the shallower water and Henry and Tharja stayed a short distance behind her. She broke the surface of the water, and noticed that dark clouds were gathered in the sky. The sun’s attempt to rise was blocked by them, and the light provided by the sun combined with the dense cloud cover caused a dull red color to tint everything in sight. The air moved all around her with restless energy. Robin clutched the compass to her chest before speaking.

“Divine Dragon Naga, I ask that you grant me strength. I ask that you remove this tail and leave legs in its wake,” Robin’s eyes were closed, but she could still see the blue light through her eyelids. Warmth surrounded her. “I ask that you take anything you need to provide the energy for such a feat; I am willing to pay the price. By all that is good in this twisted world, make me human so that I may find a way to save the innocent from the madness of Valdiar. Please. Make me human.”

Upon uttering that last word, intense energy shot through Robin’s body. Beams of light radiated from her, and she tried moving closer to the shore while she still had control over her body. Loud booms filled her ears, and she couldn’t tell if they were from the sky or not. Streaks of light flashed across the clouds, and water began to berate her from above and below the ocean. The waves grew larger and more violent.

After a certain point, all Robin was able to register was the feeling of pain. Her entire body felt as if it would explode. It felt like every part of her was being ripped apart. Her tail grew hotter and hotter until the sensation was almost unbearable. Her head felt the most pain. She swore that someone was trying to split it apart with the dullest tools in existence. She tried to scream but she couldn’t find her voice.

In the back of her mind she noted the deafening boom and flash of light that hit a rock close to her. Her bones vibrated and her skin tingled, the sensations intensifying the excruciating sensations her body had already been experiencing. She had lost control of her body, and the violent ocean waves shoved her underwater and thrust her above it recklessly. She could not swim.

The last thing Robin could feel was the sensation of what must have been legs, trying to combat the choppy waters. The pain in her head intensified. She thought death would be a welcome occurrence. She felt herself being pulled underwater once again.

Darkness surrounded her, and she drifted into a black void where she felt nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, sorry about the delay on the next chapter. Things got kind of busy, and procrastination is an evil thing.
> 
> I should probably mention that this whole thing is going to be very angsty. You've had fair warning. Now's your chance to abandon ship (pun intended).
> 
> The next chapter should be really great. At least I'm excited about it, and my beta reader is, too :)


	4. Chapter 4

Chrom smiled slightly as he took a deep breath of salty air. The early morning storm had brought a cool breeze to combat the heat, and he was happy for the temperature change. Some of the Shepherds had been baking in their armor for the past several weeks, though most had decided to forego the heavy armor in favor of comfort. Chrom was not one of these lucky individuals; Frederick had refused to allow him to remove any armor for the safety of his life. In return Frederick would leave him alone for one full day. He had yet to withhold his end of their deal.

“Frederick, I thought you were going to grant me a day of peace,” Chrom complained. “We aren’t even in a war. There is no danger.”

“One can never be too cautious, milord. Danger lurks around every corner,” Frederick replied without looking at the prince. “And there was tell of a violent disturbance in this area.”

“Yes, and we traveled all day from Ylisstol just to settle a dispute among a bunch of bitter drunks,” Chrom couldn’t complain too much, even if it was for a petty fight. It was a nice excuse to come to the beach; even Emmeryn insisted on going with them. “I meant there is no immediate danger. And if you’re so cautious, why did you insist on me surveying the land surrounding the village?”

“The villagers like to see one of their royals scouting. It makes them feel secure.”

Chrom couldn’t complain at the notion; of the royal family he was best suited for fighting should anything happen. Emmeryn was too important to risk losing, and, while Lissa had been practicing with axes, her area of expertise was still healing.

“Anyway, aren’t you hot in that full armor?” Chrom asked.

“The cool weather has made it much more bearable, though the full sun on the shoreline tends to heat one up rather quickly.”

“Lissa didn’t call you a sun baked crab for no reason,” Chrom murmured, recalling his younger sister’s comment from yesterday. She was of course referring to his cheery personality rather than his attire.

Frederick either didn’t hear the prince or decided to ignore the comment, as he didn’t acknowledge that Chrom had said anything. They reached the end of the path connecting the village to the beach and began to scout out anything dangerous the storm may have left behind. Pieces of driftwood and weapons from wrecked ships weren’t unheard of, and they were hazardous to unsuspecting beachgoers. The Shepherds planned to have a leisure day at the beach before returning to Ylisstol, and Frederick the Wary wanted to ensure the safety of everyone in attendance.

“You know, I’m really not sure that half of the Shepherds will even want to come out to the beach today. At least half of them are going to be too hungover to feel like doing anything, and half of those are probably going to sleep all day. I mean, I didn’t even drink that much and my head hurts some,” Chrom stated. Memories of the night before flashed across his mind. Laughter bubbled out of every person in sight and cheery music filled the air. The heavy scent of alcohol dripped from steins and the mouths of those who consumed it. Soft lighting and close bodies had made Chrom feel very warm and sleepy early in the night. Many partygoers hobbled through the streets, some heading home and others going seemingly nowhere in a drunken stupor. Chrom wouldn’t be surprised if a couple people found themselves waking up in a field within the next couple of hours.

The villagers knew how to hold a very pleasant celebration, and the impromptu visit from their Exalt created an excuse for a party. The Shepherds hadn’t complained, though, especially since the “band of ruffians” turned out to be nothing more than a feud between a couple of drunks and their families. That disturbance was settled easily enough.

“Ah, but your sisters wanted to swim and bask in the sun,” Frederick said. “And I’m sure many would find sleeping on the sand to be comfortable enough, especially while listening to the waves roll in and out.”

Chrom approached the crystal blue waters, his boots compressing the already wet sand. “Please, just don’t make me swim in my armor.”

“Of course not, milord. Such a thing would be extremely dangerous should you start to drown. Your armor would only aid in killing you faster.”

Chrom rolled his eyes and suppressed a chuckle. Frederick often made comments like this. They were always serious, and Chrom had learned to take his overly wary precautions at face value since it wasn’t difficult to find an insult hidden in the statements. Chrom looked down and noticed a small blue figure scuttling across the white sand.

“Hey, look, Frederick,” Chrom quickly grabbed the crab and held it up for display. “It’s your cousin.”

“Very funny, milord,” Frederick said without showing any humor whatsoever. Chrom returned the crab to the ground and watched it bury itself in the sand.

“Alright. If we’re going to get this scouting thing done, we need to split up. The sooner we finish the sooner we can swim and the less likely I am to get beaten up by Lissa during a nap,” Chrom chuckled. “I’ll take the left side and you take the right. We’ll meet at the village path in twenty minutes.”

Frederick nodded and turned on his heel, pure business as always. Chrom shook his head as he turned and began walking down the shoreline. That man really needed to loosen up more.

Chrom didn’t find much that the storm stirred up. Seaweed littered the sand, but that was hardly a threat. He couldn’t help but think of any pitiful drunks who didn’t find their way to shelter before the storm hit; it wasn’t the longest storm he had ever seen, but the amount of lightning and rain along with its strong winds compensated for its short time living.

Slowly, large gray rocks dotted the sand on the beach, every one of them bringing unpleasant scenarios to mind, if not lethal than simply uncomfortable. The ocean waves berated one rock violently enough to send a spray several feet in every direction; most of them looked sharp enough to be turned into a piercing weapon without any alteration. The Shepherds would definitely not be setting up this far down the coast.

Chrom was about to turn around to meet up with Frederick when he noticed a flash of bright white coming from behind a particularly large rock a short distance away. This white was different from that of the sand; it looked smooth and it shined brightly in the sunlight. Curious of its source and following his own intuition, Chrom approached the white object.

The closer he got to the large rock and its mystery, the more he realized that what he saw shining in the light was hair, and it was indeed attached to a head. The person was turned away from Chrom, lying on their side, and the rock obscured everything but their head, but there was no denying that some poor unfortunate soul had passed out on the beach.

Chrom thought if he tried talking to the person they would wake up gently enough without being too startled. He began to make his way around the rock and spoke loud enough to wake any normal comatose drunk.

“There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know—oh,” Chrom’s breath escaped him on the last word. The unconscious individual was a woman. A very beautiful woman. A very beautiful and very naked woman.

Heat began to rise to Chrom’s face as he noticed this detail. He averted his eyes even though he was the only other person in sight. He had never seen a woman naked. He was always courteous of every Shepherd’s privacy, even when traveling during war where privacy was extremely limited. The men and women in the Shepherds took turns for the bath tents so that embarrassing encounters didn’t occur.

Chrom stared at a different rock and tried to think of what to do. This situation is different. He isn’t at a bath tent. This woman is unconscious. She didn’t stir in the slightest when he spoke. What if she’s dead? That thought brought him back to his senses. Even if she wasn’t clothed, she needed his help.

He turned back to the woman and knelt down beside her. Controlling any unintentional wandering eyes, Chrom focused his sight on her face; it didn’t show any signs of pain. In fact she looked quite peaceful with the sunlight causing her long, snowy hair to glow brightly against her fair skin. He touched her neck to check for a pulse; she didn’t stir at all to the physical contact.  
Chrom sighed. At least she was alive. However, he noted that she may not be for very long. Her breathing was shallow and her pulse was faint. He removed the glove from his hand and touched her forehead; she felt extremely warm. Despite the blaring heat from yesterday, the temperature of the morning was relatively mild with a cool wind pushing out the heat. She must have a fever. There’s no way she could feel that hot in this weather, and especially after that storm.

Chrom replaced the glove to his hand. He really should check for any open wounds before trying to move her, but that would be crossing a privacy line he wasn’t entitled to, especially with her current state. He knew he shouldn’t really touch her at all without verbal consent. Chrom shook his head and gulped. No. This was an emergency. She needed help.

With a blush never leaving his face, he tore his eyes from the woman’s face and started looking for wounds along her body. He found it extremely difficult to perform a thorough injury examination without ogling her, but somehow he managed. Everywhere he looked, her skin was unmarked; she had no bruises or cuts. The only blemish she had was a very strangely shaped purple birthmark on her thigh. He also noticed a bright glint coming from her hand and saw that tight in her grasp was a very ornate golden compass.

Chrom looked away from the woman. He really didn’t want to shake her awake in case it caused her to panic. She didn’t appear to be critically injured, but she seemed to be on the last strings of life. He had no time to waste. He gently removed the compass from her hand and placed it in his pocket; he would be sure to return it to her once she woke up. Quickly, he removed the cape from his back and gingerly draped it over the woman.

Gods, how should he pick her up? The easiest way would be to carry her over his shoulder, but that would compromise any modesty his cape provided, and it would be extremely uncomfortable and shocking for her should she wake up. Given her state, Chrom reasoned that the best way to move her safely was to carry her with one arm supporting her back and one under the backs of her knees.

Chrom gently scooped her up into his arms, taking care to place his hands on top of the cape in order to avoid any unnecessary or otherwise embarrassing touching. The heat in face intensified more than he would have ever thought possible. He could feel how extremely smooth her skin was on his arms.

He shook his head. No matter how uncomfortable he was with the situation, she needed help. He couldn’t back down now. He needed to get this woman to Lissa and Maribelle. Until then, he needed to control his personal embarrassment.

There were many times when Chrom helped carry an injured Shepherd to the medical tent. Training sessions went awry and battles were seldom won without some expense. However, nothing prepared Chrom for finding an unconscious woman on the beach and carrying her back to civilization while she wore nothing but his cape. Who would think to cover that during training?

Chrom stumbled through the sand as well as he could. The woman wasn’t extremely heavy, but he couldn’t see where his feet were going, and he was trying his hardest not to trip over rocks.  
He was focused hard enough on walking that the heat in his face slowly dissipated. Slowly the rocky sand turned smooth again. Chrom saw a bulky figure waving to him a short distance away.

“Frederick!” Chrom yelled as he started to lose his balance in the loose sand. He stumbled enough for Frederick to rush to the prince’s aid. Frederick stared confusedly at the young woman in Chrom’s arms.

“Milord?” one word from Frederick carried the weight of a dozen questions.

“I found her on the beach. Go ahead to the village. Tell Lissa and Maribelle that they will be needed immediately upon my return,” Chrom spoke in a deadly serious tone. Then his face reddened in full force, the heat even traveling down his neck. He averted his eyes from Frederick’s. “And, uh, find a simple dress or something from the market that she can wear.”

“Milord, why does she need—” Initially confused at Chrom’s final statement, Frederick began to speak until he noticed that Chrom’s cape was covering the woman. “Ah. Well, then. I will leave immediately.”

Frederick turned on his heel and headed up the village path before Chrom could say anything more to him, though he could see the knight’s cheeks redden just before he turned away.

Chrom shifted his weight and moved his arms to a more comfortable position. Thankfully the village wasn’t very far away, and the woman should be much easier to carry once on a solid path. The fact that she hadn’t stirred in the slightest still bothered Chrom. Her arm hung limply out and her head stayed lolled back even as Chrom moved his arm to a more supportive location.

Chrom was almost half way to the village now. He looked at the woman in his arms. Though she looked to be in an extremely uncomfortable position, her face maintained a calm serenity. Under different circumstances he would have thought her to be sleeping comfortably. However, she was too feverish to be simply asleep; heat radiated from her bare skin and through the fabric of his sleeve.

How did this woman end up on the shoreline? He didn’t remember seeing her during the previous night’s festivities, and she was certainly lovely enough that he would have remembered her. Was she in a shipwreck caused by the storm? Were there other people who needed help? Would a shipwreck cause such a fever? And why was she naked?

Having finally arrived at the village, Chrom began to make his way to the inn where the Shepherds were staying. Though the morning was getting late, few people were out and about; most were likely too hungover to bother with breakfast. Chrom was very grateful for that; he could hardly handle carrying a naked woman without anyone watching him, let alone if there was a busy crowd. The lack of people also aided in his navigating the village, as he arrived at the old inn quickly.

He wasn’t three steps from the door when it burst open. Frederick appeared, and his eyes avoided Chrom and the woman.

“Take her to Lissa’s room. She’s awake, but not very happy. I didn’t get to explain the situation,” Frederick closed the door as Chrom entered the threshold. Old wood boards creaked as Chrom sneaked across the floor as quickly as possible. He would rather the Shepherds not wake up to their commander carrying a mostly naked woman into their inn.

After what felt like an agonizingly long time, Chrom arrived in front of Lissa’s door. “Lissa,” his voice was quiet and terse. “Let me in.”

“This had better be important, Chrom,” the small blonde sounded annoyed. “Frederick woke me up from an extremely pleasant dream.”

The door swung open and Chrom rushed in and walked to the bed without acknowledging his sister. Contradicting his former rush, Chrom gently placed the woman on the bed.  
Lissa raised her eyebrow. “I didn’t know you were the type to take women home, and, uh, leave them unconscious.”

“Lissa, it’s not like that,” Chrom let out an exasperated sigh. Usually he had more patience, but his embarrassment was growing by the second, and Lissa would never let him live down something like a one night stand. He couldn’t let her think that. “Frederick and I were patrolling the beach and I found her unconscious on the shore.”

“And did she just happen to be wearing your cape?” Lissa asked. Gods, how could a girl so innocent be so snarky?

“No, Lissa. She was, uh,” he really didn’t want to finish this statement. He cringed slightly. “She was…naked.”

He looked at his sister to see if she finally understood the situation. When she didn’t question him any further, he continued. “I think she has a high fever, and I checked her for physical injuries but found none.”

“Sure you ‘checked her for injuries,’” she muttered as she crossed the room to examine the woman. Chrom began to protest, but decided against it. Lissa was just grumpy because Frederick woke her up. She hadn’t even had time to fix or hair or change clothes; she was still wearing a night dress.

Her face paled and her eyebrows knit together in worry as she checked the white haired maiden for a pulse. Without looking away from the woman, she spoke to Chrom.

“Chrom, I need you to get Maribelle and assemble a small group of pegasi to fly back to Ylisstol,” Lissa was dead serious, which caused Chrom’s previous concerns to intensify. His sister grabbed a basic healing staff that was propped up against a nightstand. “This woman needs better medical attention than what the staff I brought can provide. Maribelle and I can extend her life, but only if we get home quickly.”

“What’s wrong with her? I know she has a fever, but—”

“That’s just it, Chrom,” she looked her brother in the eye. “I’m not sure what’s wrong, and that scares me. Her temperature is dangerously high, as if her body is fighting off some terrible ailment, but she doesn’t appear to be ill.”

Before he could say any more, Lissa began using her staff. Everything in the room seemed to darken except the blonde girl and her patient. Chrom left the room to follow Lissa’s instructions. She had been extremely serious after examining that woman, and that frightened Chrom more than anything she could have said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, man. I've had this vision of Chrom carrying an unconscious Robin for a while, and I know he's super embarrassed because he's a chivalrous dork.
> 
> This one is a little bit shorter than I would have liked it to be. Jeez, this is turning into a long story.
> 
> What have I gotten myself into?
> 
> P.S. Next week's chapter may be slightly delayed. I'm in a show and we are opening, so we're entering Hell Week, and I'm still getting into a rhythm for this whole... thing.


	5. Chapter 5

In order to travel faster Sumia and Cordelia escorted Lissa, Maribelle, and the unconscious woman back to the capital with the aid of their pegasi. Chrom had wanted to go with them, but the two blonde healers told him that he would just be in the way and that he should remain with the Shepherds. He hesitantly agreed, realizing that he should treat this woman no differently than one of his comrades. He trusted the skills of his sister and her best friend, and Sumia and Cordelia would ensure a safe trip.  
Sumia and Cordelia weren’t overjoyed with Frederick’s wakeup call, but they were much friendlier than Lissa and Maribelle. The two fliers wholeheartedly agreed to escort their passengers home upon learning of the situation, and within half an hour the four women were in the stables and Frederick was attaching a small cart to the reigns of two pegasi, who were very annoyed with their cargo.

“It’s alright, girl,” Sumia spoke in a soothing tone as she stroked the nose of her mount. “It won’t be for too long.”

Lissa and Maribelle were loading staves and elixirs when Chrom entered carrying their new passenger. Despite everything Lissa had tried, the woman still hadn’t woken up, though   
Maribelle did find a simple shift dress for her to wear. At least Chrom could help without turning the color of a tomato.

Chrom eyed the cart suspiciously as he laid the white haired woman in the cart. "Are you sure about this thing? Couldn't we take her back by horseback?"

"I'm afraid we don't have time for that, Chrom," Lissa said without moving away from her packing.

"She really does need immediate attention from healers with a higher skill level than us," Maribelle stated. Chrom raised his eyebrows. If Maribelle was admitting that she couldn't do something, the situation was indeed serious.

"And don't worry about her safety," Cordelia said before mounting her pegasus. "I helped build that specifically for flying mounts."

"And all of us can fight in some way," Sumia chimed in, sounding cheerful despite the predicament. She smiled at the blue haired prince. “Stop worrying so much, Chrom. Have faith in us.”

“I’m sorry, I just—” Chrom shrugged. He wasn’t sure why he was so terribly worried. He hadn’t even held a conversation with this woman, but he felt as though she was extremely important.

“It’s okay,” Cordelia said. “We understand your apprehension. You are the one who found her after all. You’re entitled to some amount of concern.”

Chrom nodded. The redhead was right. He needed to tend the Shepherds, not spend all of his energy worrying over something he couldn’t control. These four women were more than capable of handling themselves. Lissa and Maribelle settled in the cart on either side on the woman. Frederick finished securing the last strap before returning to Chrom’s side. Lissa looked at the Pegasus Knights.

“Are we all ready to go?”

“If you and Maribelle are ready, then we are,” Cordelia responded and turned to Sumia.

“Let’s get flying!” Sumia said and she and Cordelia urged their mounts onward. The pegasi heading the cart built into a run before taking off into the air. Chrom watched them disappear on the horizon when Frederick approached him.

“The rest of the Shepherds should be awake by now, milord,” he stated. “Would you like to continue our previous plans for the remainder of the day?”

“I, for one, would like to begin the journey home. I’ve already had enough excitement for one day,” he said. And it wasn’t as if he’d actually be able to enjoy their beach day. He’d be too busy worrying. He looked at the Great Knight. “Let’s wait until after breakfast. I’ll talk to everyone and they can decide if they want to stay or go.”

Frederick nodded. “As you wish,” he said before walking with Chrom to the inn.

__________________________ 

Breakfast was quieter than usual. The Shepherds were too occupied with filling their empty stomachs to talk much, and there were many who were hung over from the previous night’s events. Any conversations at the tables were quiet ones. Vaike had already complained to Stahl that he was talking too loud, even though the Cavalier had gently asked the person next to him to pass the salt.

A sense of focus began to settle on the Shepherds once they had eaten most of their meal. Headaches were beginning to subside, and they finally noticed those who were missing among their ranks.

“Why aren’t Sumia and Cordelia here?” Stahl asked.

“Come to think of it, Lissa and Maribelle aren’t here either,” Vaike observed. “If the Teach can be up and ready for breakfast after drinking so much, then they definitely should.”

“I do not believe they partook of the same celebratory actions as you, Vaike,” Miriel stated. “Though that does simply add to the peculiarity of their absence. Perhaps someone else can clarify?”

"The four of them returned to Ylisstol earlier this morning," Frederick said. He stared at Chrom who was still picking around at his uneaten food. Well, he figured now was as good a time as any.

"Yes, this morning--," Chrom cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the rest of the Shepherds. "This morning while Frederick and I were on patrol I—we—came across an unconscious woman," he began to blush furiously. They didn't need to know that the woman just happened to not have clothing. Nor that he carried her back to the village with only his cape separating the two of them. Nope. Not at all. Why would they need to know that? Vaike would never let him live that down. But he was losing his train of thought. A glance at Frederick's stern face returned him to his senses. With a mostly clear mind he continued the story. "We brought her back to Lissa. She and Maribelle said she needed immediate medical attention from the palace, that they couldn’t figure out what exactly was wrong with her. Sumia and Cordelia escorted them."

“So with the situation at hand, you all have a choice. You may finish the remainder of your vacation and return tomorrow, or you can join Lord Chrom back to Ylisstol today,” Frederick finished for him.

“Well I don’t see why we’d waste our time here when we can help somewhere else,” Sully said.

“Yeah, I mean, we can always come back to the beach another day. It’s not like the village is that far from home,” Stahl agreed.

“Aww, but the Vaike was going to—” Vaike’s objection was interrupted when Miriel stomped on his foot. She sipped her tea as if nothing had happened.

“I’m rather curious to the strange condition of this woman,” she said.

Vaike looked at the red headed mage. “Ouch,” he said with emphasis. Miriel ignored him.

“And if someone is in need, I see no reason to delay our return,” Emmeryn spoke up and looked at Chrom.

Aside from Vaike, the Shepherds agreed. Most didn’t really feel like going to the beach anyway, so the abrupt change of plans didn’t disturb them. They would be on the path home within the hour, and Vaike decided he didn’t want to stay at the beach alone.

The journey back to Ylisstol was relatively uneventful. The early storm had brought the coastal village a reprieve from the balmy summer heat, but it did nothing but make the countryside more miserable than before. The humidity was high and there was little to no wind. They had to make fairly frequent breaks to ensure that no one began to overheat, causing Chrom’s anxiety level to steadily increase. He was extremely fidgety, and he rode several yards ahead of the rest of the group simply because he was ready to be back at the castle.

Frederick was making his rounds through the Shepherds making sure that everyone was drinking enough water and staying hydrated when Chrom remembered the gold compass the woman had been holding. Maybe it would help calm his nerves. After all it was hers. He took it out of his pocked and inspected it. The back was extremely ornate; it was a fine piece of work that only nobles would have access to. Perhaps she was an important woman from another country? He turned the compass over to look at the face. The needle didn’t stay very steady, and it seemed to wobble about a point, trying to indicate a direction. Strange, the compass was pointing behind him, when they were traveling north.

“Milord, be sure to drink plenty of water,” Frederick rode up beside Chrom and offered him a water skin. Chrom didn’t acknowledge his presence, instead moving and twisting the compass around him to check for a change in direction, but it still seemed focused on one point.

“Frederick, in what direction are we headed?” Chrom asked.

“Mostly north, milord. Why do you ask? You should know this,” Frederick asked, his voice tinted with concern. Perhaps the heat was going to the prince’s head.

“It’s just that this compass appears to be broken,” Chrom stated. He handed it to Frederick before taking the water skin. “Check it yourself. It keeps pointing south.”

Frederick examined the compass before taking out his own for comparison. “We are traveling at north northeast, but this compass,” he held up the gold object “appears to be pointing west.”

“What? It was pointing south,” Chrom took the object back. Frederick’s concerned expression caught Chrom’s attention. He cut his eyes at the knight. “I swear I know to read a compass, Frederick.”

“Yes, well,” Frederick cleared his throat. “Try not to worry yourself too much over it. We will be in Ylisstol soon, about an hour a most. We should be able to make it before nightfall.”

Chrom nodded. It wasn’t too terribly odd for a compass to be broken, and it wasn’t as if it actually belonged to him. It belonged to the woman. His mind began to wander to all the strange questions that surrounded her. Where did she come from? How did she end up on the beach? What was wrong with her? Why was she clutching this broken compass?   
Most importantly what was her name? He tried to settle himself into the mindset of returning home. Soon he could ask the woman all of the questions that were swimming in his head.

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice when Frederick’s presence was replaced by Emmeryn's, her gold hair shining in the sunlight.

“What’s bothering you, Chrom? It’s rare that you are so worked up over something,” she said gently before smiling at him. “Perhaps it’s the strange woman? You know, it’s not every day you find someone lying on the ground without a shred of clothing. You’re lucky you had your cape.”

“I—it’s just—wait,” Chrom realized what his sister just said. His entire face turned red enough to intensify the color of his hair by comparison. “I never told anyone about—.”

“Oh, come now, Chrom,” she winked at him. “Did you really think Lissa would just leave without telling her dear older sister? We roomed next to each other after all. I heard her complaining as soon as Frederick woke her.”

“Emm, I—”

“Don’t think anything of it. I’d be embarrassed for you if everyone knew the circumstances of her arrival,” she paused before speaking again in a quieter tone than before “She is an extraordinarily beautiful woman, isn’t she.”

Chrom’s eyes grew large and his heart jumped in his chest. If his face could have turned a deeper shade of red then it did. He stuttered out a few incoherent words before getting out a, “No, that’s not—”

But Emmeryn was already at the back of the group, leaving her poor brother to fumble over his own jumbled thoughts. Gods, would they ever get home?  
___________________________ 

Ylisstol was a beautiful city.

Chrom was reminded of that as he and the rest of the Shepherds rode within the limits at sunset. The city constantly held a sense of beauty, but the evening’s sunset set every building ablaze with gold and orange hues. Long shadows lined the streets as they filed up to the palace gates.

Although he was eager to check up on the white haired woman, he remained with the Shepherds as they took their horses to the stables and took inventory in the barracks. A young page brought word that her fever had gone down and that Lissa would retrieve him once she regained consciousness. He really didn’t want his comrades to think anything odd was going on with him, and a small part of him was resisting the inevitable confrontation of talking to her. He was somewhere between fascinated and terrified. Fascinated by her strange circumstances and terrified of who she might be.

By the time the Shepherds had finished taking inventory, Chrom was exhausted. Not only from the day’s journey and the physical work but also his own psychological dilemma. His mind was tired. He returned to his room and flopped down face first on his bed, his legs hanging off the side. The bed had only just stopped bouncing from his sudden appearance when he heard a knock at his door. He groaned in response.

“Milord?” a familiar voice spoke.

“I’m too tired to eat any dinner, Frederick,” Chrom said, his voice muffled by the plush palace blankets. He heard the door click and open; he sighed and rolled over to sit on the bed.

“Could we take a walk, milord? I’ve just received some urgent news that you need to hear.”

“Sure,” Chrom sighed again and stood up. There was always something urgent going on. It was probably another skirmish in a small town. He and Frederick began to walk down the palace hallways.

Silence stood between the two of them for several almost uncomfortable minutes. Frederick cautiously began to initiate conversation.

“We lost no weapons on our short trip. Except for Vaike. But I hardly think the loss of his axe was entirely unexpected, especially with the way he acts once he starts drinking.”

“Ah,” Chrom acknowledged. He wasn’t listening to Frederick. Instead he remembered that the compass was still in his pocket. He really needed to make a visit, if only to return what was not his. Silence crept back between them.

“Though it’s not necessarily my place to say so, sir, you have seemed very… off… today,” Frederick said. “One can’t help but think it has to do with the morning’s events.”

“Of course it does, Frederick,” Chrom stated dryly. “You find a woman nearly dead on the beach and see how it makes you feel the rest of the day.”

“About that, milord,” Frederick stopped walking and turned to face the young prince. He held his hands behind his back. Friendly Frederick was gone. This was full business Frederick. “I just received word that one of our patrol ships downed a Valmese battle ship last night.”

The news surprised Chrom. Emmeryn had advocated for peace among surrounding countries ever since their father passed. “Why? Where did this happen?”

“They tried to avoid confrontation, but the Valmese opened fire. Our scouts believe they are planning an invasion. That single ship was just the start,” Frederick lowered his voice. “The incident occurred approximately one kilometer from the shore of South Town.”

South Town. “But we were just—” Chrom realized what Frederick was implying. “Do you honestly suspect her of being a spy?

“One can never be too careful.”

“Frederick, she isn’t even conscious! She’s ill for Naga’s sake! How could she be a suspect? Are you accusing her of being a spy when she can’t even defend herself?”

“I never accused anyone of anything,” Frederick said. “But we cannot avoid the possibility that she is a danger to us all. And if she does turn out to be a Valmese spy, we have just brought her to the heart of our country without a second thought. She may be more than a spy; she could very well be an assassin.”

Chrom turned away. He was angry, but not at Frederick. He couldn’t deny that every work his most trusted knight spoke was true. How foolish could he have been to bring a complete and total stranger into the castle walls?

“You are no more to blame than I am,” Frederick said, his face softening. Chrom didn’t realize that he had said that last part out loud. “You did what you thought was the right and proper thing to do. I expect nothing less from a great leader.”

“I’m not the great leader. Emm is,” Chrom shook his head. “I want no part in leading a country.”

Frederick placed a hand on Chrom’s shoulder. “You may share blood with the late king, but you are not his son in spirit. You are your own person, and you are already more of a king than he will ever be.”

“That’s very kind of you to say, Frederick,” Chrom said. “But I still have no interest in the throne.”

They continued walking down the hallway in a comfortable silence. Neither paid any attention to the paintings that adorned the walls. Years of passing them by made the prince and the knight blind to their presence. Chrom almost forgot they existed unless he actively looked at one.

“I will not restrain you from seeing her,” Frederick said quietly. “I only ask that you execute some amount of caution. Her circumstances are strange, and I have many questions for her, as I’m sure you do as well.”

At the end of the hallway, Chrom saw a figure coming toward them. As it got larger and larger, he recognized two gold tails of hair and a yellow dress. Lissa ran toward them at full speed. Frederick and Chrom hurried to meet her.

“What’s wrong?” Chrom asked, worry in his voice. Regardless of Fredericks warnings, Chrom still couldn’t help but worry about the condition of the woman. Lissa was breathing heavily. She weakly began to hit her brother’s arm.

“Why weren’t you in your room? I’ve been running all over this palace looking for you! Do you know how big this palace actually IS?” Lissa complained once her breathing was steady. “The woman. She’s awake. Their moving her out of the medical ward and into a guest room.”

Relief lit up Chrom’s face, and, despite all sense of logic, he was happy and excited. Lissa started leading the two men to the room they had set up for their visitor. He looked at Frederick. “I guess we can ask her all those questions now, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it has taken me this long to update.
> 
> While Hell Week wasn't the worst one I've had, it was still soul draining (The show was fabulous by the way; I got to be a snarky drunk. Thanks for the thoughts). After Hell Week I got sick. So writing obviously didn't happen then (Still managed to perform while sick, too. I'm too determined).
> 
> Anyway, I hope you actually like this chapter. There's better stuff to come, I promise.
> 
> I just have to actually get to it first.


	6. Chapter 6

A dull pain echoed in the woman’s head as she opened her eyes to look at the ceiling of a dimly lit room. She felt as though something was pushing her into the plush bed, but nothing was atop her except a soft blanket. She sat up to observe her surroundings. Though she felt heavy, her motions felt as though there was no resistance whatsoever. Several lamps adorned the room, casting deep shadows across the walls and furniture. How did she get here?

She recalled the sensation of floating and faces surrounding her, all of them with full looks of concern and concentration. She concluded that she was being transported, but she was unable to recall anything else.

For some reason, she felt as though she should be moving, as if she were being chased by someone. Her pulse began to increase. She needed leave. She needed to get away. And she needed to do it quickly. She didn’t know why, but someone was after her, and they would surely find her if she didn’t keep going.

She heard a voice from the other side of the door.

“She was awake in the medical ward, but not extremely responsive. She passed out again while we brought her here,” said a light, feminine voice. People. Just what she was trying to avoid. Maybe they were just passing by. She held her breath and listened intently.

“Did you ever determine what was wrong with her,” said a new, strong voice etched with worry.

“The best we can figure is that her body was rejecting something. She was unresponsive as if she were in shock, but she had a freakishly high fever,” the voice sighed. “Frankly we don’t know what was wrong with her. All we could do was treat her symptoms rather than the source. Maybe she’ll be able to tell us what happened if she’s awake.”

The door handle began to turn. As the woman’s heart beat faster time appeared to slow. She only had seconds to run, but where could she go. She doubted she could make it out the door, especially if there was more than one person coming in. She quickly scanned the room. The window. It was just a few feet away from the bedside. She threw the blanket off her body at the same time the door opened.

The woman didn’t look at the people walking in the room; she was focused on the window. She didn’t see the look of horror cross the face of the blue haired man when she tried to stand up, so she didn’t notice that his reflexes were faster than hers. She had managed to stand next to the bed, but as soon as she began to run her legs betrayed her. She started falling toward the window, and braced herself for impact.

But she never hit the ground. Something stopped her from falling. She opened her eyes to see wall of blue. Then she realized that a person had caught her and protected her from harm. Her gaze slowly trailed up until they met intense blue eyes. Why would he help her? Were they not the very people who were pursuing her? Could she trust him? And why did he look so familiar?

It wasn’t until he gently shook her that she realized that he had been talking to her. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I said are you alright,” the look of concern intensified.

“I—yes. Thank you,” she responded before standing on her own two feet. “I just—I need to go—” she tried to take another step but stumbled again. The blue haired man steadied her.

“I don’t think you need to go anywhere, yet,” he led her back to the bedside. “You’re still too weak.”

She didn’t respond. Weak from what? Were these people out to get her, or could she trust them? Perhaps she should stay until she learned more from them. He helped her back into the bed.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you run so fast, milord,” a third voice said. She hadn’t noticed him before. Though they were inside what appeared to be a very peaceful place, the man was wearing full armor.

“Yeah, that was even faster than when Stahl is late to dinner!” the blonde girl beside him giggled.

The blue haired man’s face was tinted pink, but he didn’t respond to the statements of his comrades. Confusion still ran rampant in the woman’s mind. She was obviously in a very wealthy building, and the small glimpse out the window she saw before falling showed hundreds of beautiful buildings, but they all seemed tiny in comparison to where they were located. She looked at the blue haired man, who was still blushing brightly.

“Where am I? How did I get here?”

“I—uh—Frederick and I,” he gestured to the armored man, “we found you washed up on the beach in South Town.” He ran a hand through his hair, “You were unconscious and had an extremely high fever, so I carried you back to our inn, and Lissa and some of our friends brought you here, to Ylisse.”

“You probably would have died if Chrom hadn’t found you,” the blonde girl—Lissa—said. Chrom. That was his name. He wouldn’t directly meet her gaze and his cheeks remained pink. Confusion must have shown on her face because Lissa continued in an exasperated tone, “You didn’t have any clothing on at the beach and he had to cover you with his cape to carry you back. He feels sorry for seeing you naked.”

“Shut up, Lissa!” Chrom blurted. His face turned a deep red, but he didn’t deny her statement. The woman felt slight heat rising to her own cheeks.

“Since we’ve settled that, may we ask who you are?” Frederick asked. “How did you get there in the first place?”  
Everyone looked at her. She began to answer but stopped. Who was she? She tried thinking back but couldn’t find any clue to her identity. How did she end up on the shore? Vaguely a name came to her mind and she muttered to herself, “… Robin.”

“What was that?” Chrom asked.

“Robin,” she looked at him. “I think my name is Robin.”

Chrom’s eyebrows shot up, “You think, that’s your name?”

“Are you telling us you don’t even know who you are?” Frederick narrowed his eyes.

“I—I don’t know. I can’t remember anything,” Robin responded. She genuinely couldn’t remember a thing. It was as if her mind was filled with a black void. Gods, how was she supposed to do anything without knowing who she was? Her heart raced and her eyes grew warm. She searched frantically for some shred of light, but as soon as she seemed close to remembering something a piercing pain shot through her head. She cried out and pressed her palms to her head. The pain was strong enough she lost track of what was going on around her; she was simply drifting through darkness. She was alone and lost in herself.

A warm hand between her shoulders prevented her from drifting into a sea of pain. A soothing voice pulled her back to reality. “…push yourself.” She focused on the voice. “…no need to think too hard about it.” Slowly the pain subsided. “It’ll be alright.” Chrom’s voice. She opened her eyes to meet his blue ones. He must been trying to comfort her; one hand rested on her back, and he was much closer to her than before. “Don’t push yourself, Robin. We’re in no hurry.” His other hand brushed a tear from her cheek before settling on her trembling hand. She hadn’t even noticed that she was trembling. “I promise we’ll figure this out. You are not alone.”

Had she spoken aloud during her episode? Regardless of whether she had or not, Chrom’s soothing words calmed her down.

“She must have amnesia,” Lissa muttered, more to herself than anyone else. Frederick didn’t respond, and Chrom was still rubbing her back.

“See? At least we know something,” he tried reassuring Robin. “Lissa, what do you know about amnesia?”

“Well, I’ve never actually run across a case of it, but it’s basically memory loss. From what I’ve read, it’s usually an effect of some kind of traumatic experience,” she said.

“Like a shipwreck?” Frederick asked in a matter of fact tone. He looked directly at Chrom, and the blue haired man glared at him.

“I suppose,” Lissa continued oblivious to the stare off happening in front of her.

Robin spoke up, “Is it possible for me to recover my memories?”

“In some cases the memories return on their own; sometimes they have to be triggered.”

Perhaps that was the source of the pain in her head. Robin felt so close to remembering, but everything was just barely out of reach. The whole ordeal made her head spin.

Chrom’s face lit up as if he were just remembering something. The warmth of his hand disappeared as he began to frantically pat his body. He shoved his hand in a pocket and pulled something out. “Maybe this can help,” he handed her a gold compass. She looked at it intently, searching for any clue of her identity. All it did was point at Chrom. “You were holding this when I found you. Since you, uh, didn’t have anywhere to put it, I held on to it. It seems to be broken though.” He ran his fingers through his hair as if he could shake of his never ending embarrassment. Lissa looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What? You said sometime the memories have to be triggered. This is obviously hers and it seemed important. I thought she might miss it.”

“Just keep telling yourself that,” Lissa sighed. Before Chrom could argue she approached the white haired woman. “Anyway, you’re probably tired. Even if you’re not, you need to rest. We’ll leave you alone, and someone will check on you in the morning.”

“But, Lissa, I—” Chrom began, but she grabbed the tail of his cape and pulled him to the door.

“Come on, Chrom.”

Frederick chuckled at the two siblings as he turned out the lights, and even Robin couldn’t resist a laugh at the scene. The door shut behind the three, and Robin settled into the bed. Suddenly she didn’t feel so lost. If she were to lose her memory anywhere, she was happy it was where Chrom could find her. She could have been picked up by thugs or even nobody at all. She could have died on that shoreline. But she didn’t. She had found safety and support among strangers.

A slight click caught her attention. She looked up at the door as it creaked open and a blue head poked in.

“Sorry, to bother you,” Chrom said. “I just wanted to let you know that my room is just down the hall if you get lonely.” He paused for a second before rushing, “I mean, if—if you get frightened, or—or if you feel bad, or need help or something, or—”

Gods, he wasn’t the most eloquent speaker, was he. “I understand what you mean,” she said with a slight smile, cutting him off to save what was left of his dignity. Then with all of the sincerity she could place in the words, she said, “Thank you, Chrom.”

He sighed and stood in the door for a minute before speaking again. “I mean it, Robin. We’ll help you figure out everything. You’re our friend now.” Silence answered him, and he slowly retreated back into the hallway, pulling the door closed with him.

A friend.

The word seemed slightly foreign to her, and as she began to drift into sleep, she concluded that, yes, she was extremely lucky to have been found by these people.

She gave a brief glance to the compass. Maybe it was her mind or maybe it was the moonlight, but the compass face seemed to hold a faint blue glow.  
She was too tired to worry about it. She closed her eyes as her exhaustion washed over her. She didn’t see that the needle of the compass was following a certain someone down the hallway, only settling once he reached his own bedroom.

____

Chrom half jogged to catch up with Frederick. Lissa had retired to her own room, having spent most of the day healing Robin, and Chrom had returned to the mysterious woman’s room with the excuse that he had forgotten his glove, even though it had just been in his pocket.

He was still worried about Robin; he couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to not know anything but a name. The sight of her trying to remember disturbed him deeply, but he was only able to support her trembling form and try to ease her out of her blank mind. And what had her so fearful that she was going to jump out a window to escape? Even when she seemed to have relaxed her face held traces of fear.

Mostly he couldn’t forget those deep brown eyes staring at him, searching him as if she were picking apart his character. She had seen a lot. She may not remember it, but he was sure she’d had her fair share of grief.

She sounded as if she was almost asleep when he popped his head back in her room. He didn’t want to disturb her, but he felt as though he needed to let her know that she was safe. He told himself it was for her comfort, but he was the one who needed peace of mind. Gods, he’d made a fool of himself.

Frederick was actually waiting for him at his bedroom door. Great. The knight wanted to talk.

“What is it, Frederick?” Chrom asked, still trying to recover from the memory of his verbal slip up.

“Are you feeling better now that you’ve seen her?”

Chrom sighed, “Yes, actually, I am.”

“About that woman, milord, I think you should try to keep your distance,” Frederick said bluntly. Of course he would think that. He’s Frederick the Wary after all.

“'That woman’ has a name, Frederick.”

“Yes. A name she says she’s unsure about.”

“But it’s a name none the less.”

“A name with no identity to follow it. It would not be wise to take in someone whom we know nothing about and who knows nothing about herself.”

“Why do you just assume that she’s—”

“I’m not assuming anything,” he cut the prince off. “I just find it highly suspicious that she has ‘developed’ amnesia considering last night’s incident. You heard Lissa. A traumatic experience can trigger this kind of memory loss. She could very well have been on that Valmese ship and not remember it now.”

“I understand, but treating her as an outsider could bite us in the ass if she is with Valm,” Chrom retorted. “Don’t you think the diplomatic thing to do would be to treat her as one of our own? To protect and help her? That’s what we formed the Shepherds for, is it not? To help and protect those in need?”

“Yes, milord.”

“Then what makes her any different from all of those we’ve helped before? She still feels, Frederick. You didn’t see the fear and despair in her eyes. She is in an intense amount of pain. Imagine if you woke up knowing only your name. How lost would you be?” Chrom’s words settled on the two of them. The prince spoke again, softer this time, “She’s telling the truth. She needs our help.”

“All I ask is that you be careful, and use that thing resting in your head for once in your life,” Frederick looked at him seriously. “I don’t want to have to plan a royal funeral anytime in the near future.”

Chrom chuckled to himself. “You won’t be doing that for a long time. The easiest way I’d die is in battle, and you’d jump in front of me before that happened.”

“Any of us would,” Frederick responded.

“I’d do the same for any of you, but someone would be bound to hold me back,” Chrom said. “Lissa would have an absolute fit if I risked my life unnecessarily,” he paused for a moment. “Speaking of Lissa, did she say anything else after I left?”

“Just something about you giving the compass to her so that she could return it to the woman if she woke up before we got back. Also something about you being a selfish little turd who just wanted some excuse to go see the pretty lady,” Chrom stared at him in slight shock. Frederick noticed the expression and recovered quickly. “These were all her words, of course.”

“I—yes. That sounds like something she would say. Exactly like something she would say,” he muttered to himself.

“Well, milord. It is late and it has been an increasingly long day. You should get some sleep. We don’t need you falling ill,” Frederick was back to business. Chrom smiled to himself.

“Yes. Good night, Frederick.”

“Good night, milord,” Frederick said as he walked away. Chrom stood alone for a minute listening to the sound of armor slowly dissipate. Then he listened to the silence. Heaving a sigh, he turned to his own room and stepped inside.

He noted the beauty the silver glow of the moonlight as it shined on the floor. Immediately his mind drifted to Robin, and how brightly her hair must glow in the moon. Wait. Why would he think about that? She was nothing more than a person in need, right?

Right?

He thought back to what he’d told her after slipping back to her room. She was a friend. That’s more than just a person in need. A friend. But surely he wouldn’t think of how she looked in moonlight if she were a friend, right?

Right?

He recalled Lissa’s words and her accusatory expression from earlier. Did she know something he didn’t? Did she have an explanation for his actions? He thought everything he’d done had been justified. Sure, he was overreacting a bit, but it didn’t mean anything, right?

Right?

While trying to organize his thoughts, he dressed for bed. He plopped on his back in the soft bed and pulled the light blanket over him. His mind kept turning until he drifted into sleep. His last coherent thought was that they could solve Robin’s mystery. It wasn’t strange for him to want to help her in her time of need, right?

Right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo next chapter! And it didn't take three weeks to come up with!
> 
> They finally meet and talk to each other! (More to come next time)
> 
> Chrom is so in denial. I don't think he even knows what he feels. 
> 
> I do make a post on my tumblr every time I update this if any of you would like to keep up with it better. My url is kamuithedragonlord.


	7. Chapter 7

Dim lights cast deep shadows across the mostly empty underwater throne room. The column lined walls gave the room an ominous air, and the heavy doors stood firmly closed. The night was growing old, and morning would soon arrive, though it showed no traces of its existence yet. The king sat on his golden throne with a red haired merman to his right and two younger merfolk before him, one female and one male. Negative energy surrounded the king, who was stroking his pointy goatee while questioning the two before him.

“And you’re positive you did not see Robin after she left the library?” he was attempting to hold in his anger, but his impatience was seeping through. “Where did you go after the incident, Tharja. Nobody saw you at all.”

“Lord Validar, that’s because—”

“She was with me. In my room,” Henry spoke up. A slightly uncomfortable silence met their ears when Henry realized what that must imply. “I mean, she was helping me perfect my puffer fish hex. She’s freakishly good at dark magic, so I stole her for assistance.”

“And why did you want to see Robin in the middle of the night?” the king questioned.

“She read something about increasing fish elasticity while we were in the library,” Tharja spoke in a low tone. “I was too preoccupied with the mollusk tome to read it.”

“Yeah, and the guards would have been entirely too conspicuous for a recovery mission,” Henry said. “Robin’s too smart for that.”

“Too smart for her own good,” Validar muttered. He looked at the two in front of him. “She’s smart enough to act alone in a swim away attempt like this. I suppose that, given the circumstances, the two of you are innocent of treason.” The king sounded bored and irritated; he would surely snap either of them in two just to entertain himself if they didn’t  
choose their words carefully.

Apparently sensing the irritation from the king, the red haired merman spoke up, “King Validar, this won’t hinder our plans for the time being. We still have to locate a vessel of Naga to accommodate the lovely princess; just don’t forget your end of the bargain.” His skin appeared sickly in the dim light, and his gold tail lent to his flashy aura of arrogance.  
A smile traced his lips granting him the appearance of a maniac, “But, yes, I’ve received reliable information that a vessel of Naga bears much the same mark as a vessel of Grima.  
However, the vessel we seek will be on land.”

Henry and Tharja looked at each other, each with mild surprise and slight concern. Validar noticed their change in attitude. He narrowed his eyes.

“What? Do you know something we don’t?”

“No… sir. We just know how much you detest the humans, and—”

“Yeah,” Henry intervened once again. “We just think it’s kinda ironic that you need someone from the very race which you hate! Isn’t that funny? Nya ha!”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” the king’s dark mood was slowly dissipating. He looked at Henry and Tharja, “The two of you are dismissed. But be prepared to search again at a moment’s notice.” The two nodded and turned to leave before the king could change his mind.

“Gangrel, we need to begin rearranging our plans,” he said to the merman beside him after the other two had left. “Find a way to awaken Naga to her vessel, then abduct it for our own purposes.”

“Yes, my king,” Gangrel gave a bowing nod, doing little to hide his sarcasm. Validar didn’t notice his tone, as he was too invested in his own thoughts.

“If she’s anywhere in this ocean, I’ll find her. That daughter of mine may think she’s gotten away, but she can’t escape her destiny.”  
____

Robin woke with a start. It was odd; she felt as though she should be frightened, but she couldn’t determine the reason why. The visions of her dream were already fading. She could vaguely recall eerie lighting in some kind of underwater room, but that shouldn’t cause her any reason for concern. But still, she felt as though someone was still out to get her, and the sensation was, well, haunting.

She looked around her, having forgotten where she was. The room she was in was simply decorated, but the furniture and fixtures appeared to be expensively made. Sunlight shone through the window and lit up the bright white linens that covered her body. The window. Suddenly the events of the previous night rushed back to her, and she tried once again in vain to recall her past.

Slowly she stood up from her bed. Slowly, with one hand on the side of the bed for support, she moved her legs and tried walking. They felt unfamiliar to her, and a mild tingling sensation flowed through them until she got the hang of them. Her knees wobbled a few times, but she managed to remain steady for the most part.

Finally she reached the window. Gripping the windowsill, she leaned out and felt the warm air brush her cheek and blow her hair behind her. The sunlight’s warmth seemed to penetrate her entire being and light up her spirit. The brightness pushed away the uneasy feelings from her dream. It was a new day, and the new day would bring new opportunities. She would restore her memories, if not today then another.

As she took a deep breath of the clean air, the door to her room opened and Lissa entered carrying a stack of fabric. She seemed surprised that Robin was awake and walking around. Robin turned back around to greet her.

“Oh, I guess you’re feeling better then,” the young cleric was cheerful as ever, and she looked much more put together than the night before. Her yellow dress was clean and straight and her pigtails were neat and secure. A cheery smile decorated her face as she spoke to Robin, “I was going to ask if you wanted to eat breakfast with the rest of the Shepherds in the mess hall.”

Robin was more than slightly surprised to be invited to breakfast. She had only been picked up yesterday, and she had only talked to them last night, yet already they were welcoming her with open arms. Maybe Chrom was right; she was a friend. She responded, “I’d love to join, but only if everyone will have me. I don’t want to be any more of a burden than I already am.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lissa scoffed. “Everyone is actually pretty excited to meet you! Especially Sumia and Cordelia; they flew us back to the castle, you know.”

“Wait. Castle? This is a Castle?”

“Yes, of course. Did you not know?” Lissa’s face showed genuine surprise. “Figures; Frederick would make sure not to mention something like that, the buttface. But still, I can’t believe it didn’t come up last night.” She paused for a moment, apparently thinking about the previous night’s exchange until she was satisfied that the topic actually wasn’t discussed. “Anyway, this is the palace of Ylistol, in the city of Ylisse.”

A castle. She was in a castle. Of course it made sense. The beautiful view out the window. The expensive looking furniture. But a castle meant royalty, right? “If this is a castle, then there must be royalty, right? Who is the ruler?”

“Well, the Queen Exalt is Lady Emmeryn, my, uh, sister,” Lissa scratched her head and scanned the room. Robin’s surprise multiplied, but before she could compose herself enough to speak, Lissa continued without pause, “Well, we don’t usually talk about it that much, especially when we’re doing Shepherd work I mean we just don’t think it’s necessary information for just any person you come across to know, and Chrom really ignores his title a lot and just kind of does whatever he thinks is best to do even if it’s helping some random stranger, which any of us would do really, and Frederick treats us as royalty even though we tell him not to because he’s our friend, you know, and we just wanted to be treated just like any other Shepherd.” The blonde girl took a deep breath.

Robin just stood there. Lissa was a princess. Chrom was her brother, making him a… prince. Oh, gods, as if it wasn’t bad enough that a stranger had found her naked, it had to be a blasted prince! She felt her face grow warm. She was never going to live this down.

Apparently Robin was quiet for too long, because Lissa spoke worriedly, “You aren’t mad, are you? That we kept something this big from you?”

“No, of course not!” Robin said. She couldn’t blame them for wanting to be treated normally; for some reason, she could almost relate to the feeling. “It was just a shock, that’s all.”

“Good,” Lissa sighed in relief. “In that case I brought you some clothes.” She laid the stack down on the bed and held up a simple v neck shirt. “Sadly I couldn’t really find much other than this old outfit, but it should do for now, at least.”

“It’ll be perfect,” Robin smiled as she approached Lissa—her legs were cooperating fully now, and she was extremely grateful for the help of the blonde princess.

No. Not a princess.

A friend.  
____ 

Chrom’s eyes objected to the warm sunlight streaming down on his face. He grunted and rolled over, burying his face into the pillow. Usually he didn’t have a problem with the sun waking him up, as it usually lit up the corner of his room as he prepared for the day, not his bed. He typically rose with the sun so that he could make it to the training yard before everyone else.

But. The sunlight wasn’t in the corner of the room. It was on his face. That must mean… Damn.

His eyes shot open, forgetting their previous complaints for more rest. He overslept. It was hours past when he usually got up. In a frenzy he rolled from his stomach to his back.

Or at least, he tried.

What he failed to realized was that in his half asleep state, he had rolled dangerously close to the edge of the bed, and he just so happened to roll the wrong way. With a yelp and a thud, the blue haired prince flopped right of the edge of the bed, twisted in sheets and blankets as he dragged them down with him.

His mind was still foggy with sleep, and he hadn’t fully processed what just happened. No sooner did he realize that he just fell out of bed did a loud banging greet his ears.

“Milord! Are you alright?” Frederick’s worried voice was muffled by the heavy door.

“Yes, I, um, just overslept,” Chrom tried to convince the knight not to enter while he made a poor attempt to frantically disentangle himself from his bedding. “That’s all. No need to worry.”

Either Frederick decided to ignore the hint, or he didn’t catch it. Before Chrom could object, the knight had entered his room, apparently still worried. However, the expression of apprehension melted into entertainment as he saw his master rolled up on the floor in his bed sheets. He stifled a chuckle, “You just overslept? That’s all?”

“Shut up,” Chrom said. “I rolled out of bed trying to get up because I overslept. Why did no one wake me?”

“Considering yesterday’s events, we all thought it best that you sleep as long as possible,” Frederick said. After a few more seconds of struggling, Chrom was released from his  
cotton prison, and he paused for a moment before he had fully processed Frederick’s words.

Yesterday. The woman on the beach. Robin. That wasn’t a dream?

He stood up and rushed straight to his wardrobe. “Thank you for the sentiment, but I really should be in the training yard by now,” he said to Frederick as he pulled out a blue uniform. Then he added softly, “Not to mention everything else that needs to be done.”

“You mean that woman,” Frederick’s temporary lapse in formality was gone, replaced by his usual, serious self. “Lissa checked on her a little while ago, and she was already up and walking. I believe they are on their way to breakfast at the moment.”

“There’s no reason to wait, then,” Chrom said as he threw on his clothes, choosing to ignore the fact that Frederick still didn’t want to address Robin by name. He walked to the door.

“Um, milord?”

“What is it Frederick?”

“It’s just that…Your clothes are on backwards.”

Chrom looked down to realize that Frederick’s statement was correct.

“Yes. Well,” he spoke without meeting the knight’s eyes. “We’ll go as soon as I am dressed properly.”

Gods, if this was any indication of how the rest of the day would turn out to be, Chrom was terrified.  
____

As soon as Robin and Lissa entered the mess hall she was greeted with warm laughs and cheerful conversation. The Shepherds didn’t notice her appearance initially, but when she sat between Lissa and a handsome young man with messy olive hair, everyone seemed to stop what they were doing and observe their visitor.

After a slightly awkward moment, Lissa spoke up, “Guys, this is Robin. She doesn’t really remember anything about her past, so I think she will be with us for a little while,” Lissa thought for a moment then looked at Robin. “You are going to stay here aren’t you?”

“Well—I honestly haven’t really thought about it,” the statement was true. She was too busy digesting her current situation to even consider what her next actions should be.

“Yeah, why don’t ya stay here a while? The Teach’ll be more than happy to give you a few new memories. Some that’ll be more interesting than your old ones,” a muscular shirtless man leaned over the table to look at her.

“I beg your pardon,” Robin was startled, and didn’t understand the man’s methods.

“Aww don’t be like that,” the man said then he lowered his voice a bit. “There’s plenty of space in my room ya know. Especially the bed. The Teach knows lots of—”

The man was suddenly cut off when a large book made contact with the side of his face. He turned to the apparent culprit.

“Miriel, what the hell?”

“Must you be so vulgar at breakfast, Vaike? Some of us are attempting to consume the necessary nutrients for the day. Your attempt at a sexual advance is extremely off putting and is causing a dramatic decrease in appetite,” said a redheaded woman wearing a large pointed hat. Robin’s cheeks flushed at the words “sexual advance.” So that was his problem.

“I didn’t have a problem eating,” said the messy haired man beside Robin.

“No, I shouldn’t expect you to find difficulty with such a feat, Stahl,” she said, pushing her glasses up her nose.

“Anyway, why the hell do you have a freaking tome at breakfast?” Vaike asked while rubbing his cheek.

“It is never too early for research. Especially when the library has so many books that are relevant to your topic of study.”

“A normal person would just leave it at the library,” Vaike muttered before turning back to his food.

Miriel looked at the blonde man. “A normal person would also wear a shirt on a regular basis.”

Stahl chuckled, “She does have you there, Vaike.”

Vaike didn’t respond; rather, he sulked in his breakfast, wallowing in the embarrassment of rejection. Robin had watched the whole exchange with a bewildered expression. These were certainly—er, colorful—people.

Stahl added a couple of pancakes to his already heaping pile of food. He turned to Robin’s plate and began adding food to it. She looked at him questioningly.

“What? We can’t have you starving, now. You’ve probably not eaten anything for at least a day,” he said. As if on cue, her stomach gurgled angrily. Stahl laughed. “See? Even your stomach agrees.”

“Yes,” Robin smiled. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

“Anyway, Robin,” said a woman with light brown hair and a gentle face. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Because, I mean, you weren’t really responsive at all,” she stuttered a bit then paused before continuing. “Oh! I guess it would make more sense if I told you that Cordelia and I helped bring you back here! I’m Sumia by the way.”

“We were worried,” a woman with long red hair spoke up. Sumia had gestured to her while talking to Robin. “Especially when Frederick woke us and said we had a medical emergency,” she smiled kindly then said, “We’re just glad you are healthy. And my name is Cordelia.”

Robin acknowledged the two women, and they began a discussion over the lovely weather and how perfect it would be for avian training. Robin’s stomach growled again, and she decided to appease its anger by eating the food that Stahl had piled on her plate. While the Shepherds were eating, Robin turned to Lissa. “Miriel, was it? She said there was a library?”

Lissa had to swallow her mouthful of eggs before responding, “Yeah. The castle library. Did you want to go to it?”

“I was just thinking, maybe there would be something to help with my memory loss.”

“Oh, yeah! I bet that’d be a great place to start,” Lissa nodded vigorously. “Someone can take you there after we finish eating!”

Vaike tried interjecting, “You know, I could always—”

“Not you Vaike,” Lissa emphasized each word and looked him dead in the eye, and Robin swore the strong man began to sweat a bit at the small girl’s glare.

“Besides, you’re on stable duty,” Cordelia chimed in.

Vaike complained, “But I don’t want to clean Pegasus shi—”

“It’s okay,” Robin cut him off. “We don’t have to go today, if everyone’s busy.”

“I could show you,” said a voice from the end of the table. Its owner was a large brunette man who Robin couldn’t believe she didn’t notice before.

“Kellam!” Lissa exclaimed. “When did you get there?”

“I’ve been here the whole time,” he sounded more than slightly frustrated. He looked at Robin. “We have a little bit in common. You’ve forgotten your past, and, well, everyone seems to forget me…” he drifted off at the end.

At that moment everyone looked at the entrance of the room. Chrom quickly walked in and joined everyone at the table.

“Looks like the prince overslept!” said a tomboyish woman—Sully, she had learned was her name. “You’ll never beat me in a match if you keep up bad habits like that.”

“I didn’t mean to sleep in, Sully. I had every intention of going to the training yard before breakfast this morning.”

“Sure ya did.”

“Oh, give him a break,” Sumia came to Chrom’s defense. “He had a long day yesterday. Our leisure time was cut short after all. And as if travel isn’t tiring enough, he insisted on unpacking and taking inventory, even when we told him to rest. He overworked himself.”

Lissa rolled her eyes, “Sure. That’s why he’s tired. It’s not like he could help finding something to distract himself from—”

“Okay! Thank you, Lissa,” Chrom cut her off.

“I have an idea,” his sister responded with a glint in her eye. “Robin wants to see to library. Why don’t you take her.”

“What?” both Robin and Chrom said at the same time.

“Like I said we really don’t have to—”

“Frederick would kill me if I skipped—”

Their statements overlapped again.

“Oh, come on! You know you want to,” Lissa sounded like she was trying to persuade a child into eating forbidden candy; the desire was obvious but an unknown force said to decline. “And Chrom, the only thing you absolutely have to do today is go see Emm. You can take Robin with you! I’m sure Sis is dying to meet our mysterious guest.”  
Frederick looked like he was going to object, but Robin spoke first, “Would it be smart for me to see the Exalt? After all, I’ve not even been here a day.”

“Actually,” Chrom responded sheepishly. “Emmeryn requested you visit her.”

“Then it’s settled then!” Lissa clapped her hands together. “You’ll both go see Emm, and then Chrom will take Robin to the library!”

Robin made a few more attempts to decline the invitation, that she really didn’t want to mess up the prince’s already busy schedule with her problems, but Lissa would hear none of them. Frederick stood at the side of the room, his face appearing as though he had just eaten something slightly bitter. Chrom finished eating some eggs and pancakes and the two stood up to leave the room. Frederick made to follow them until Lissa stopped him.

“Frederick! Do you think you could help me train some today? I’m having trouble using this axe.”

“Yes. Of course, milady,” Frederick hesitated before speaking. He looked at her suspiciously before resuming his previous position against the wall. Chrom and Robin were almost at the door when a blue haired man spoke up.

“Ah, young love,” he said and grasped Sully’s hand. “The sight of the love those two have is almost as bright as the stars in your eyes.”

“What the hell are you going on about this time, Virion?” Sully asked as she pulled her hand away.

Robin’s face burned at Virion’s implications. She began to deny his claims but Chrom beat her to it, his face turning a bright red.

“We are not in love, or love birds, or—”

“Whatever you say,” Lissa responded as she took a sip of her tea.

These were very odd characters indeed. However, Robin found that each one of them held an uncanny amount of charm. They were all so different, and yet they fit so well together. Beside her Chrom gave an exasperated sigh, apparently giving up an argument with his younger sister. He took Robin’s hand and pulled her toward the door.

“Let’s go,” he said without looking behind him. Though she could see that his cheeks were still flushed.

Yes, each one of the Shepherds was charming in their own special way.

Even this blundering prince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo another chapter in a timely fashion!
> 
> I really hope everyone likes this chapter even though it's relatively uneventful. I personally face palmed while writing some of these scenes, so I hope they get a chuckle from you readers, too. If you haven't noticed already, I see Lissa as a huge Chrobin shipper and a slight troll to her brother.
> 
> All of your comments really keep me going; I get warm and bubbly every time I have an email. 
> 
> However, I am getting to the point where I don't quite have scenes plotted already. But don't worry. I have places this is going to go, I just have to make it get there, so, please, bear with me.
> 
> And as always, thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Chrom and Robin walked in silence after they left the mess hall. Chrom couldn’t understand how Virion could get the impression that the two of them were lovers. They hadn’t even known each other for a day. Sure he had seen her naked—that put them in a more familiar situation than most, but it had been an emergency situation. That didn’t count, right?

“I’m, uh,” Chrom broke the silence. “I’m sorry about them. They all have very—colorful—personalities. I know Vaike can come on kind of strong, and nobody even knows what Virion is talking about half the time.”

“No, it’s okay, really,” Robin smiled at him. “Everyone was so sweet. I’m really very grateful for being here. Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for? I only did what was right. You were in trouble and needed help. There’s no need to thank me for that.”

“Even so, I really appreciate everything you’ve done,” she replied earnestly. She then looked at their still intertwined hands. “And I’m guessing Virion might get ideas from things like this.”

Chrom followed her gaze down to see their hands. He quickly released his grasp. “Oh, I—um—I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize—” he fumbled over his words. Gods, he didn’t even notice that he was still holding her hand. This day just wasn’t going well at all.  
Robin laughed—a wonderful noise Chrom noted—and soon the two of them were laughing together. The sudden change in mood was exactly what Chrom needed. Now the morning’s faults up until then seemed extremely minor.

“It’s okay,” Robin said as their giggle spurt began dying down. “I didn’t notice it until then either.”

“I just can’t believe I was so oblivious,” Chrom was still smiling. “I mean we were walking for—how long? Five minutes? How did neither of us notice?”

“I don’t know,” Robin said. Before silence could settle between them she asked, “How far are we from seeing the Exalt?”

“Emmeryn? She’s actually right through there,” he pointed at two large, ornate doors a short distance down the hall. “But before we go in, there’s something you should probably know. Emmeryn is actually mine and Lissa’s sister.”

Robin appeared unaffected by this information. “I know. Lissa told me this morning.”

“She what?”

“She told me that you were a prince. Which, now that I think about it, really explains Frederick’s behavior toward the two of you.”

“Of course she told you,” he muttered. It really shouldn’t surprise him that Lissa would let something like that slip. Not that it was really a big secret. But he still didn’t really want to just throw the information everywhere; people tended to treat him differently after learning of his lineage, and he hated the formalities that came with the title. He continued, “But please, don’t let that information change anything. With the Shepherds, I’m a commander before I’m a prince, and we treat each other as equals. I would ask you to do the same.”

“Of course. Learning you’re a prince doesn’t change who you were yesterday when you found me or last night when we talked. And it certainly doesn’t change who you are now,” Robin assured him. They approached the doors. “You wouldn’t happen to know what Lady Emmeryn wanted to meet with me about, would you?”

“Oh, she’s probably just curious to meet the mysterious woman from the beach, just like the Shepherds were,” Chrom answered. Robin started fiddling with her compass and she pursed her lips. Chrom could see her hands trembling slightly, and her eyes wouldn’t settle on anything for more than a second.

“Robin,” he said, but she didn’t seem to hear him. He stopped directly in front of her and tried again, “Robin.”

She gasped and jumped slightly. “What? Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I just got lost in my thoughts,” she apologized.

“Don’t worry, Robin. You haven’t done anything wrong. None of us are going to hurt you without any reason. Especially not Emmeryn. She’s a peaceful ruler,” he said. Robin simply nodded, but her brow was still furrowed. She pocketed her compass, and   
Chrom opened the doors to the throne room.

Robin was taken aback at the sight before her.

The room was long and vast, and tall windows lined the walls allowing golden sunlight to flood the room. Ornate pillars stood between the windows, and the marble floors shone brightly. The palace courtyard was viewable from the arched windows, and the soft green coloring of trees and bushes perfectly complimented the apparent golden hue that settled on the room. At the end of the room rested a large chair with a woman dressed in green sitting on it, her blonde hair glowing slightly in the sunlight.

As Chrom and Robin approached, the Exalt stood up to greet them. Chrom gave a short bow to recognize her title, and Robin bowed deeply and lingered in the position before rising.

“It is good to see you well,” her gentle voice perfectly matched the atmosphere of the room. “My brother here was extremely worried about your well-being.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Robin responded then glanced at Chrom. “And I have heard a bit of Prince Chrom’s—ah—worry.”

Chrom blushed. Emmeryn looked at her brother and smiled, “Yes, I’m sure you have. Might I ask your name?”

“It’s Robin,” Robin said sheepishly. “I wish I could tell you more about myself, but I’m afraid I can’t remember anything other than my name.”

“Well, Robin,” Emmeryn said after a moment. “I can’t imagine how it must feel to know nothing more than your name. As long as you are no threat to Ylisstol, you are free to stay here as long as you need.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly impose that much. Surely I could stay somewhere else—”

“Nonsense, Robin,” the Exalt cut her off. “The Shepherds found you, and the Shepherds will care for you.”

“Thank you, Lady Emmeryn,” Robin bowed again.

“Emmeryn, I’ve decided to make Robin a Shepherd,” he said seriously, though still slightly embarrassed from Emmeryn’s earlier statement.

“That’s very bold of you, seeing as you’ve only just met her,” Emmeryn said.

“Chrom, you have no reason to—”

“Nonsense, Robin. Emmeryn, I take full responsibility for her and her actions. She has already met the other Shepherds, and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen them in merrier spirit.”

“But, of course, Robin is her own person. You cannot be fully held responsible for the actions of another person.”

“Chrom, I don’t know who I am. Neither do you. Right now I don’t even trust myself,” Robin said.

“But that’s exactly why I’m recruiting you. The best place for you to be right now is under the watch of the Shepherds. And since you’ve done nothing to warrant imprisonment, the best way to do that is to join the group,” he said. Silence emanated from the two women. He added, “And it doesn’t have to be permanent. Just until we learn more about you.”

Robin looked at him with a very baffled, exasperated expression. Was he some kind of idiot? For all they knew, she could be spy or a traitor. She couldn’t even defend herself because she didn’t even know. Why was he adding her to his most trusted group of fighters?

Emmeryn sighed, “Very well, Chrom. I trust your judgement. But I did call you here for a reason. I have a mission for you and the Shepherds.”

“Is it another local dispute?”

“No, this is more important to the well-being of Ylisse,” Emmeryn said. “Our trade contract with Regna Ferox has expired; without the Feroxi fur and steel, I worry about what our economic state will come to. You and the Shepherds are to go to Ferox and develop a new contract with the Kahn.”

“When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Alright. I’ll have the Shepherds prepare for departure,” Chrom said. “Is there anything else you need to tell us?”

“Only to be careful on your journey. There appears to be some unrest with Valm, and you never know where danger may reside,” Emmeryn said. She then addressed both of them with a smile, “Now, please, both of you enjoy the rest of this beautiful day.”

Chrom and Robin bowed again before turning around to the double doors. Neither of them saw the endearing expression the Exalt wore as they walked side by side out of the throne room.  
____

Robin was nearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of books contained in the Ylissian palace library. Book filled shelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Plush chairs adorned the room for leisurely reading, and large tables with ornate chairs provided a place for more intense perusal. There were several wheeled ladders to allow access to top shelves, and the room itself was larger than she would have thought possible for a library. Luckily tall windows allowed the bright, natural sunlight to flood the room.

Chrom could hardly see Robin due to all the books she had piled up on her table. She had directed the left half of the table for books she had already looked through and the right side was reserved for the books she had yet to examine.

Chrom was trying to help—he’d pulled most of the books from the shelves, and he’d claimed a few for research himself. Both of them sat reading intently for several hours, occasionally giving a grunt of displeasure when a possible lead turned to dust. During that time, Chrom had shifted positions from straight in a chair, to sideways, to sitting on the floor, and eventually to lying on the floor with a book on his face. Robin hadn’t budged from her position at a table. Her eyebrows stayed furrowed, and her eyes darted quickly across book pages.

“Hey, Robin, do you think maybe we should take a break for a little while?” he asked but received no answer. He sat up and placed the book on his lap. “Robin?”

She was still reading. Her mouth was moving with every word she read. Chrom stood up. “Robin?”

No response. He stood up and approached her. She showed no sign of noticing his actions. Once he was beside her, he tried again, but with a bit more force in his voice. “Robin!”

The white headed woman visibly jumped and a yelp escaped her lips. Chrom stifled a laugh. Robin turned to him and smacked him on the arm. “Gods, Chrom! You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that! You’re lucky I didn’t throw you an elbow or something!”

“Sorry, Robin, but I’ve been trying to get your attention for a few minutes now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d been trying to get my attention,” she said, her cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment.

“I guess whatever you were reading was super interesting. You were even mouthing the words.”

“Was I? I didn’t notice,” she said before looking at the book again. “I mean, this is probably nothing, but there’s a legend in this old book. I just felt some kind of a connection. It’s probably nothing,” she sighed and looked out the window with her chin resting on her hand. The sun stood high in the sky. Robin guessed it was probably just past noon; they hadn’t been reading for too terribly long, but it was past time for a break. Her mind was exhausted.

Chrom raised an eyebrow at her. “What legend did you read?”

Robin didn’t look away from the window. “It seems to be an old myth about the Divine Dragon Naga. It says that a priestess of Naga lives under the sea, and that through Naga she can grant one wish to anyone who is pure of heart, but only if they sacrifice something in return. But the wish doesn’t seem to have any limitations. But the way it says ‘sacrifice’ implies that this spell doesn’t cost something like a few gold pieces. It’s something like all of your wealth, or a family member, your voice, or maybe even—”

“Your memory,” Chrom finished.

“Yes,” she looked at Chrom. “But the whole thing is ridiculous. Sure this could be a plausible explanation to my amnesia, but why on earth should we jump to the conclusion that it’s all part of some kind of myth?”

“Well, it doesn’t sound too far-fetched. Naga’s powers are told to be extremely powerful.”

“There’s no doubting that. But if I place myself in this story, it doesn’t add up. I would have needed a strong motive to do something as drastic as sacrificing my memory. And what’s more, I don’t even have the memories to think of any reason for seeking out Naga’s powers!”

“But it’s also one of the only leads we have. I don’t think we should rule out the possibility of this legend.”

“Did you miss the part where the priestess lives under the sea?” Robin scoffed. “In order for this to be plausible, I would have to be able to breathe underwater. That means I’d have to be a mermaid or something. And as you can see, I’m perfectly tail free.”

Chrom’s mind suddenly wandered back to the beach when he found Robin. His cheeks reddened as the sight of her lying bare in the sand crossed his mind’s eye again. He cleared his throat, “Ah, yes. I know all too well that you do, indeed have two legs. I didn’t see any tails anywhere.”

Robin blushed when she realized what he was referencing and looked away. “Then why does this seem so… so—familiar?”

“Have you tried looking for other signs of the identity of the priestess? Perhaps some more information about her could lead us to some more useful information.”

That was actually a good idea. If she could learn who this priestess in the legend is, she might be able to track down another story. Maybe one that included a way to recover memory loss.

“Or maybe we could try looking for something that more directly tells us more about you and who you are. You do have an interestingly shaped birthmark on your leg. Maybe it’s hereditary…” Chrom stopped when he realized what that implied. Robin’s eyes were wide, and she looked like she was either going to start screaming or punch him in the throat. “Robin, I swear I tried not to look at you when I found you but something like that just kind of sticks in your mind, you know? I just meant that you might find out where you’re from. Everyone in the Exalt bloodline bears a mark. See, I have one on my arm.” He turned his shoulder toward her as if they would somehow be equal for knowing where each other’s marks were.

“It’s fine Chrom,” Robin said through gritted teeth. “But somehow I think looking for the priestess’s name will be easier than looking for my birthmark.”

“Right, well, I’ll look through a couple of these books, so… okay,” Chrom walked to the nearest bookshelf before he could put another foot in his mouth. Robin resumed reading the book that contained the legend.

She skimmed the pages as quickly as she dared at the risk of missing some important information. She didn’t get much out of it other than an undersea cavern that was deep into the ocean. Her head was starting to hurt, but she dismissed it as nothing more that overthinking. She caught mention of magic with blue light and something about a tiki.

Robin gasped, clutching her head in her hands. She doubled over as her head tried to split itself open. She felt herself falling but she couldn’t move her body to stop herself. After what felt like hours, she managed to open her eyes to see Chrom’s worried face peering at her. She was sitting cradled in his arms on the floor of the library.

“Chrom…” she muttered. She stared intently into his eyes. “It’s Tiki. Her name is Tiki.” At the mention of the name, a sharp pain hit her again and she winced.

“I think it’s time to stop for today, Robin.”

“But we’re just now getting somewhere—”

“No, Robin. It’s time to stop. You’ll get nowhere if you’re crippled in pain. There’s no need to rush things. I’m sure you want to know what’s going on, but we have plenty of time to figure this out. You need to rest for tomorrow’s journey. We can resume the search once we return from Ferox.”

“Tomorrow’s journey?” Robin asked. “You mean, I’m coming, too?”

“Of course,” Chrom smiled at her. “I made you a Shepherd, remember? You’re one of us. We will be your home until you find yours.”

Robin smiled back at him. “Thank you.”  
____

The two of them spent the remainder of the day enjoying the wonderful weather. After meeting Lissa and Maribelle in the hallway, the four of them decided to have a picnic lunch in the courtyard. Maribelle showed Robin how to properly eat a finger sandwich, and two minutes later the blonde woman was criticizing Lissa for not acting very princess like at all. This was greeted with a whining laugh and a statement that she never asked to be a princess, she just wanted to eat her lunch in peace thank you very much.

Lissa and Maribelle offered to give Robin a complete outdoor tour since the temperature was perfect, to which Robin readily agreed. Lissa asked Chrom if he wanted to join, but he refused, saying that he really needed to hit the training yard considering how he slept in that morning. Besides, he had to organize all the necessary provisions for the trip to Ferox.

He watched the three women walk away, the three of them laughing and chatting cheerily. Lissa seemed to simply want to spend adventure time with Robin, and Maribelle was giving full history on the noble families of Ylisstol and their contributions to the castle grounds. It was difficult to believe that they had only just met Robin.

Chrom made his way to the training yard where he found Frederick stacking firewood. The knight approached him before he could start practicing his sword work. His expression was difficult to read for anyone who didn’t know him, but Frederick had been a Ylissian knight for years, and by this point Chrom noticed all of the little changes in Frederick's body language depending on his mood. Currently he was a combination of annoyed, worried, and curious.

“Milord, might I ask where our guest is?”

“She’s with Lissa and Maribelle,” Chrom said. When Frederick’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of this, Chrom gave an exasperated sigh. “Come on, Frederick. It’s not like they can’t defend themselves. Have a little faith.”

“If I may say so, milord, it’s not that I have so little faith, it’s that you have entirely too much. Do you trust her enough to leave her alone with your little sister? At least you are better capable of defending yourself.”

“Frederick if Lissa were here she’d wear you out. You’ve been training her well these past few weeks. And besides, I trust Robin. I’ve actually decided to make her a Shepherd.”

“You what? We have no idea who she is. We have no reason whatsoever to trust her.”

“We also have no reason not to trust her,” Chrom said. Frederick gave an exasperated sigh. “Cut her a little slack, Frederick. Do you realize that she herself said the exact same thing you just did. If she doesn’t even trust herself, someone has to.”

“And I suppose that someone is you?”

“Yes. It is,” silence settled between them for a minute before Chrom continued. “By the way, Emmeryn has a mission for us. We depart in the morning for Regna Ferox to issue a new trade agreement. We need to gather the necessary equipment for the journey.”

Frederick nodded. He started to make his way to the stables when he turned to face the prince. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said before continuing on to make arrangements for Ferox.

“Yes,” Chrom said as he grabbed a training sword from a rack and began to spar with a mannequin. “I hope I do, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so terribly sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I had a horrible case of writer's block on top of school starting back, so things just didn't seem to jive. 
> 
> I'm going to try to make updates every two weeks rather than every week now, and I'll probably post on either Saturday or Sunday. This way maybe you won't be as disappointed when I miss a deadline. But I really can't make any promises. Engineering is a very time consuming major, and I usually can't think straight after I get through with all my homework lol
> 
> Hopefully the block is over and things will flow smoothly for a while!


	9. Chapter 9

Robin wasn’t sure what was more embarrassing: Vaike’s constant attempts at flirting or Virion’s continuous assertion that she and Chrom were a couple. With every statement from one or the other, Robin’s face grew redder and her mind became foggier as she tried to ignore them. But Vaike would have none of that.

“Hey, Robin, you sure ya don’t wanna ride over here with me?” he said as he drew his horse alongside hers. “I’ll keep ya from fallin’ off.”

“That’s very… kind, but I think I’m good,” Robin said with a quick glance at the blond man.

“Don’t be like that! There’s plenty of room for—” Vaike’s statement turned into a yell as his horse suddenly sped off. Sully appeared in his place with an annoyed face and a reddened palm.

“Gods, he was even gettin’ on my nerves,” the redhead said. “I can’t imagine how you must feel.”

Robin’s initial shock turned to amusement. She chuckled, “I’m sure he’s just a bunch of innocent talk. It’s no big problem, really.”

“Robin. You’re a Shepherd now, and you’re going to have to stick up for yourself. If Vaike starts bothering you, don’t be afraid to tell him to shut his damn mouth,” Sully paused for a moment. “Or you could just hit him. That works sometimes, too.”

Robin laughed as Vaike rode by yelling at his horse to slow down, the animal zigging and zagging around the rocky terrain and jerking his rider back and forth in his saddle. “Thanks, Sully. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“What an idiot,” Sully sighed. Sumia strode alongside Robin and gave an exasperated sigh.

“He doesn’t even realize that his yelling is just scaring the poor dear,” Sumia said. “There’s a reason he doesn’t fight on a mount, you know.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised he’s managed to make it this long without screwing up,” Sully said. “He’s not the most coordinated man alive, you know.”

“W-well, I can’t really say anything about bad coordination. I trip over my own feet,” Sumia blushed.

“But you don’t seem to have a problem now,” Robin interjected.

“Oh, well, that’s all her,” she patted the mane of her pegasus. “I’m a complete klutz. I’d be no use in a fight if it wasn’t for her.”

“Sumia’s legs are those of her pegasus. Vaike’s belong on the ground,” Sully explained, and the three girls laughed at the comparison. A little ways behind them they noticed Vaike had finally calmed his horse, and Miriel was giving him an earful about the proper way to regain control of a horse, including the precise angle and force needed on the reins in order to slow one down. Vaike slumped into his saddle as Miriel went on about his reckless, irresponsible behavior.

“Aw, maybe we’ve given him a hard time,” Sumia said. “I mean, look how pitiful he is. He looks like a toddler who’s just been told he can’t have any dessert.”

Sully scoffed. “He always acts like a toddler.”

“No, Sumia may be right. But I think Miriel is handling him just fine,” Robin said. She rubbed her bare arms, trying to fight the chill that was creeping in. She knew that Regna Ferox was in the north, but she didn’t realize how cold it would get, or she would have asked for warmer clothes before leaving.

“I think it’s about time for me to rotate positions with Cordelia. I’ll see you two later,” Sumia gave a cheery wave before taking to the air. The wind from the pegasus’ powerful wings caused Robin to visibly shiver.

“Ya getting cold on me, Robin?” Sully asked.

“No—yes—well I didn’t know it would be quite this cold, and this shirt is a little—”

“I’m just messing with you,” Sully laughed. “I guess we forgot to tell you that it’s usually pretty snowy in Ferox.”

Vaike had apparently made his way back up to Robin because he chimed in right behind her. “Don’t worry. I can keep you warm.”

“That’s hardly necessary, Vaike. You aren’t even wearing a shirt yourself,” a familiar voice interrupted before Robin could even respond. Chrom pulled up beside the fighter. “By the way, Frederick wants to see you in the back line.”

“But I—she didn’t—can’t I—why does—Oh, fine,” He huffed before stopping his horse and riding to the back of the group.

“You know, I was going to just hit him,” Sully said. Robin laughed before shivering once more. The incline of the path increased with large rocks and dense trees lining the landscape, and it felt like the wind was targeting her.

“Robin, I—uh—I mean Lissa and Maribelle found an old coat you can wear. It may be a little oversized though,” Chrom said before offering her a bundle of dark fabric.

She gratefully accepted the coat and slipped it on, careful not to lose her balance, as she wasn’t the best at horseback riding either. However, oversized may have been an understatement. The coat was huge. The sleeves hung down past her hands and the tail billowed in the wind, but Robin was happy to have something to break the wind.

“Is it okay?” Chrom asked, deep lines creasing his brow. “I—we’d hate for you to freeze.”

“It’s perfect. I’m not cold anymore. Thank you,” Robin smiled. And it was true. The chill that had worked its way into her had melted away, and for some reason the coat’s size didn’t bother her at all. She actually felt secure, like a child wrapped in a blanket.

Chrom beamed, and the worry left his face. “Maribelle said something about it being too tacky to give to you, so I was afraid you wouldn’t want it.”

Robin examined the coat more closely. Dark purple lines ran down the sleeves and hood, and the tail and sleeves were trimmed in yellow; large stitches held the sleeves to the body. Brass buttons and laces ran along the opening of the coat. Robin thought about buttoning it, but decided against it, thinking she would feel like she was wrapped in a sleeved blanket if she were to do so.

“No, I think it’s has personality. I like it,” she said. Chrom’s giddy smile was contagious. Soon Robin was smiling with him, and Sully rolled her eyes.

“Gods you two. Get a room,” Sully said.

Just as Sully finished talking, something small and white drifted down from nowhere and landed on Robin’s nose, and she suppressed a small yelp at the cold temperature. Before she could ask Chrom about it, she noticed hundreds of other white specks falling down around them.

She pulled her coat closer around her body and fiddled with the compass around her neck; Lissa had found an old necklace chain that she could use. It made it a lot easier to keep up with the only clue to her identity. “Chrom, what is that? Is the sky falling?” she asked with genuine concern.

Chrom and Sully laughed. Robin looked frantically between the two of them, wondering what on earth was so funny. Her smile had melted away, and the worry in her brown eyes caused Chrom to stop as he realized she was serious. “Sorry, Robin. I guess it’s a little odd to think that someone doesn’t know what snow is. There’s nothing to worry about. It’s just snowing. This happens all the time when we go to Regna Ferox. In fact, if it snows enough, we might take a break and play in it.”

“That’s only if Mommy Frederick will let us,” Sully scoffed.

“Is it always this cold?” Robin asked as more flakes landed on her outstretched hand.

“Yes. It’s actually frozen water,” Chrom said.

“Really?”

“When it warms up it melts into water.”

“Which can actually cause quite a mess. Especially on dirt roads like this,” Sully interjected.

Robin sat in silent fascination as the snow fell gently to the ground. Something about it looked so magical. Perhaps it was the way it melted when it landed on the tip of her nose, the way it clung to her eyelashes before falling to the ground, or the way the white chunks grew in size and started falling faster. Whatever it was, Robin watched as the path before them gained a thin dusty covering.

“Too much more of this and we’ll end up losing the path,” Chrom said with a furrowed brow. He turned to the two women. “I’m going to talk to Frederick. I think we can make it to Ferox before we lose mobility, but I want to get a second opinion.” He turned to return to the back of the group.

Suddenly the air seemed tense. Robin felt an almost electric tingle. A buzz tickled her ear. Her head spun with the direction of the noise. She spotted an arrow vibrating from impact in a tree directly behind where Chrom’s head would have been had he not changed his course.

It occurred to Robin that the arrow was no misfire. None of the Shepherds were wielding their weapons. More than that, it came from within the trees beside them…

“Chrom!” Robin yelled. The prince jumped at her outburst and stopped to turn around just in time to feel the wind off another arrow on the back of his neck.

“We’re under attack! Shepherds, prepare yourselves!” Chrom announced. Many of the Shepherds began dismounting in preparation for battle, including Chrom. Sumia returned to the ground beside Cordelia to help her comrades. Their assailants started seeping from the shadows of the forest after having their cover blown. Chrom looked at Robin. “Do you know how to fight?”

“I-I,” Robin open and closed her mouth trying to find the answer to his question. She hadn’t thought about whether or not she could fight; it hadn’t really come up in conversation. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I should have asked sooner,” Chrom looked at the redheaded Cavalier beside her. “Sully, protect Robin.”

“But they’re attacking you!” Robin called after him, but he had already run to help Stahl defend himself. Virion began firing into the trees, and Miriel cast a thunder spell on a man trying to attack Vaike, who had apparently misplaced his axe.

Two assailants approached Robin and Sully, both of them wielding swords. One made to attack Sully.

“You don’t really think you can hit me with that thing do you?” she scoffed. The man grunted in response before striking at her, but before he could hit, Sully deflected his sword with her lance before landing her own attack. The man collapsed in a heap on the ground. His partner turned to Robin.

“And do you think you’re going to get her? I don’t think so,” Sully said before silencing him as well. “It’s just plain rude to attack the defenseless.”

Two more fighters replaced the ones Sully took down. Robin looked around. Everywhere she turned there was a Shepherd locked in combat. And she couldn’t do anything about it. Everyone was fighting for their lives and hers. Helpless. She felt absolutely helpless.

Couldn’t she be useful somehow?

Something tugged at mind. Something isn’t right. Chrom was their target, right? Why were they attacking all of the Shepherds? It didn’t add up. Unless… his assassin hadn’t revealed himself yet.

She needed to warn Chrom.

She quickly scanned the surrounding trees, looking for any sign of a human in hiding, the snow now working against her.

Then she spotted it.

A branch wobbling out of the wind’s rhythm. A soft rustling of leaves. Snow falling from a branch. The glint of a silver arrowhead, its target preoccupied with another swordsman.

Time seemed to slow. Robin jumped from her horse, pulling a spare bronze sword from the saddle bags even though she didn’t know how to use it. She would figure it out once she got there. The roar of battle disappeared. Vaguely she heard Sully yelling at her before stabbing an opponent who had deemed Robin an easier target.

She ran at Chrom as she watched the string on a bow grow taut. Just a few more feet. She could make it. Right? She just had to shove him out of the way. Right?

His back was to the trees. He would never be able to see it coming. He helped Stahl down another attacker.

The bow released and the arrow flew. Robin’s stomach dropped. It was too late. She simply wasn’t close enough to warn Chrom. She stretched her hand and yelled incoherent words at the attacker. She shut her eyes out of fear. She didn’t want to see anyone get impaled.

But everything Robin saw was happening too fast for anyone else to notice. It was only the bright blue light that emanated from Robin’s hand that caught everyone’s attention.

Chrom didn’t even think. He heard Robin’s voice yelling through the fray and instinctively ducked. The third attempt on his head flew past and hit one of the attackers in the chest, causing him to collapse, struck down by his own ally. Chrom turned to face his savior.

Robin stood shakily in front of Chrom, staring at her hand as a pile of dust and clothing sat at the base of a tree. Her eyes were wide and she was trembling. Somehow, Chrom decided it wasn’t because of the cold. Vaike finished off the last attacker and let out a victory yell, earning him a harsh shush from Miriel.

Everyone stood for a minute in silence staring at what had just happened between Chrom and Robin. Their commander and prince had almost died. But more than that, this new recruit, who didn’t even know how to fight, had managed to disintegrate the assassin.

Frederick noticed the shivering woman and found a spare blanket. He walked over to the Chrom before handing him the blanket.

Chrom approached Robin and gently draped the blanket over her shoulders just as her knees began to give away. He steadied her before clearing his throat.

“Well. I guess you do know how to fight after all.”

Robin nodded silently. She looked around at the fresh crimson snow. Ten minutes ago she was fascinated with its purity. Now she felt completely disconnected from that happy moment.

“Who would have guessed we’d be attacked on the way to a trade negotiation?” Chrom said looking at Frederick.

Robin looked him in the eye. “I hope this isn’t what you meant by ‘taking a break and playing in the snow.’”

Chrom sighed. The tension in the air left suddenly as it came. “No. Not what I meant at all.”

“Good. In that case.” She bent down and scooped some snow into a ball. She turned around and threw the snowball where Chrom had stood. Only, he wasn’t there anymore. Robin’s dusty ice weapon flew through the air and hit Frederick in the head.

“Nice aim,” Chrom said, suddenly beside her. Everyone stifled a laugh at the sight of the steely Frederick being hit by a snowball. She smacked Chrom’s arm and the prince laughed outright.

“Indeed,” Frederick said, brushing the snow out of his hair.

“Well, then,” Robin started moving toward her horse. “I blame the snow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M STILL ALIVE!!!!!
> 
> I bet you thought I was dead or something. Hopefully this will tide everyone over until the semester ends (two more weeks, woo!)
> 
> Sorry. I'm a horrible writer who can't juggle school and writing at all. This only happened because I'm a loser who did the rest of her homework for the semester two days before Thanksgiving, then decided to write some. And I got tired of having half a chapter sitting in Word. This is what happens when you don't have a life.
> 
> Anyway, I hope this chapter is up to par with everything else. I tried to go back and fill out some of the action-y parts, but I'm sure they could be expanded on more.
> 
> Also, does this have enough fluff? I don't really know. I don't know what I'm doing.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me :)


	10. Chapter 10

The Shepherds arrived in Regna Ferox just as slight flurrying turned into a heavy snowfall. Chrom was rather glad they arrived before the heavy snow set in. It was bad enough they were ambushed on their way to Ferox, but had the snowfall been any worse… well, he didn’t really want to think about what condition the Shepherds would be in now if that were the case.

He flashed back to the battle. How did he not notice the enemies lurking in the shadows? Luckily Robin warned him before that arrow introduced itself to his head.

Chrom really felt sorry for Robin. She spent the rest of the trip hugging herself in what appeared to be an attempt to stop shaking. Chrom would have said that she was just cold, however, her face said differently. Her lips remained pressed in a hard line, and her eyes weren’t as bright as they were before. It was almost as if she was afraid of something, but he couldn’t figure out what. It’s not like she did anything wrong. She’d saved his life and everyone else’s. They weren’t angry at her or anything.

Maybe he should talk to her, help ease her mind. If anything else, it’d ease his. For some reason the thought of her being upset bothered him.

Before he had the chance to talk to her, however, the Shepherds were halted by the Feroxi guards.

“What business do you have with the khans of Regna Ferox?” spoke a short haired woman with a stern voice.

Chrom dismounted his horse and slowly approached the knight. “My name is Prince Chrom of Ylisse. We come on behalf of our Exalt Emmeryn. The trade agreement between Ferox and Ylisse had nearly expired. The Exalt would have us draw a new one.”

The Feroxi knight thought for a minute, eyeing each of the Shepherds as if she could dissect their true intentions by simply staring them down. Her eyes lingered on Robin for a few seconds longer than everyone else. Finally she addressed Chrom once more.

“Very well. I will lead you to the khan’s palace,” she started walking away from the Shepherds and into the large fortress before them. Realizing that she wouldn’t be waiting for them, everyone hastily dismounted and passed their horses off to the other Feroxi guards.

“Thank you…” Chrom said as they caught up to the woman, who was already in the building; he stopped when he realized that the knight hadn’t introduced herself. “Um, might I ask what your name is?”

“There is no need for such formality.”

“But we can’t thank you properly without knowing it.”

“You will not see me long enough for it to matter.”

“Oh…” He trailed off, a look of disappointment on his face. He didn’t suppose she was one for conversation. He just hoped the meeting with Khans Flavia and Basilio went better than this.

She must have noticed his despair. She heaved a sigh before speaking a single word. “Raimi.” She turned back around and continued as if nothing happened.

Frederick approached Chrom.

“Milord, if I may be so bold as to suggest that you speak with a bit more refinement to the khans. You are a prince after all. They expect you to act like one.”

“Frederick, I was just trying to be respectful. Obviously it didn’t work.”

“Might we also discuss the incident that occurred on the mountainside?”

Chrom cut his eyes at Frederick. “The attack itself, or what ended it?”

“I was thinking more about what ended it, sir.”

“Do you still think she’s a traitor waiting to spring a trap? If she wanted to kill us she would have done it already.”

“I understand that. But try to understand how incredibly strange it is to see magic of that magnitude used without a tome.”

“You still think she’s lying?”

“Not necessarily. Say she did lose her memory. That would do nothing to suppress her talents; I believe she is very gifted in the magical arts. Who taught her how to use magic like that?” Chrom began to interrupt but Frederick cut him off. “Before you continue, I did notice that she was protecting you. I know that she warned us all of the attack. If her intentions were to kill, she missed a prime opportunity.”

“What are you saying Frederick?”

“I do not suspect her to be an immediate danger. However, I worry about where she came from. Her home may mean us harm. I’m not saying she can’t be trusted. I only wish we knew more about her past.”

“I’m glad we’re finally on the same page,” Chrom said. “Really, Frederick. It’s relieving to have your approval.”

They followed Raimi a few more minutes in silence before Chrom spoke up.

“Did Miriel ever finish analyzing the origin of our attackers’ clothing?”

“She did. I will spare you the finer details on how she arrived at her conclusion, as it involved a rather lengthy discussion on types of materials and their history. Maribelle would be more than happy to provide a commentary on it as well,” Frederick said with what was, for him, a slight chuckle. His face returned to its usual serious expression. “She suspects that the attackers were from Valm.”

Of course. He should have seen that one coming. “What I don’t understand is the sudden aggression by Valm. Aren’t they a typically peaceful country that believes war is the bane of human existence and should be avoided at all cost?”

“Yes, but if I’m not mistaken, they have a new ruler. He could be the cause of their sudden change in attitude.”

“I just hope that we can resolve things diplomatically. I don’t think everyone has recovered from my father’s tirade.”

“Yes, a war is the last thing we need,” Frederick agreed. Raimi led them up a series of stone steps and down a long hallway. The palace itself was extremely simple, especially when compared the palace in Ylisstol. The only decorations in the hall were red banners lining the walls and torches to light the path; everything else was built from the same gray stone. The Feroxi were all for practicality, and Chrom suspected that this building was designed to withstand a siege or attack of any magnitude.

They arrived at a T shaped intersection, and before them was the entrance of what appeared to be a very large and important room; the solid doors were much larger than any of the others Chrom saw while passing, and they were reinforced with steel beams. The low chatter from the Shepherds ceased as Raimi entered the room, signaling Chrom to wait for her return.

After just a few minutes, Raimi returned and addressed Chrom.

“You have been invited to rest here until an agreement is made. Rooms are being prepared so that you may not be forced to sleep in the snow. However, the khans would speak only with those who are essential to the issue at hand.”

“Of course,” Chrom agreed. “Frederick and Lissa will come with me.”

“Very well. A palace attendant will escort the rest of you to the dining hall, where you may wait until your rooms are ready. Khan Flavia also wanted me to remind you that our hot springs are open for you to use.”

A young girl dressed in simple red clothes ran up to Raimi. She kept pushing her hair out of her face just to find it fell back in place, and her cheeks were pink from exertion. She paused a moment to catch her breath before giving a respectful bow to Raimi then the Shepherds.

“I was told to come see you, Miss Raimi,” her meek voice squeaked, and she kept her head bowed slightly.

“Yes. Take our visitors to the dining hall, then their rooms.”

“Yes ma’am,” she nodded before looking once again to Chrom’s group. “If you would, please follow me.”

The young servant started walking down the left hallway, and the Shepherds, save Frederick, Lissa, and Chrom, followed suit. Raimi addressed the three remaining Shepherds before opening the double doors.

“The khans will see you now.”

Chrom led the way across the doors’ threshold, Lissa close at his tail. The throne room greatly resembled the hallways of the Feroxi palace, but its grandeur still shone through. The stone floors were neatly polished and their signature red banners softened the feeling of harsh stone. However, rather than an actual throne at the end of the room, there was a sturdy wooden table with a dozen chairs. Two figures stood up at the sight of the Shepherds, waiting for them to reach the table.

“Chrom, I don’t understand why you wanted me to come with you for this. I don’t know anything about trade. It’s not like I’ll be any help. And I’m hungry! Everyone else is eating right now,” Lissa complained. She stuck out her lower lip in a mock pout.

“Lissa, your lack of knowledge is exactly why I wanted you to come,” he glanced at the blonde girl. “You’re a princess of Ylisse, and you need to know these things in case something happens to me or Emmeryn. I want you to be prepared.”

“What do you mean, ‘in case something happens’?”

“Well, if one or both of us are sick or injured, maybe if I’m on a different mission and we need attention for another political event, or… you know. If one of us were to… die, you’d be next to take over—”

“Stop it, Chrom! You aren’t going to die, and Emm is not going to die! At least not anytime soon,” the usually playful princess spoke with a firm, serious voice.

“Lissa, there’s no way we can guarantee something like that—”

“No! I will not let you talk about something so morbid. You have too many people who would die in your place for you to be worried about that! Frederick, Sumia, Stahl, any of the Shepherds, really. And Robin has already shown us how much she will protect you! So drop it!”

By this time Chrom wouldn’t have been able to continue his conversation anyway, as they had arrived at the table where the two khans of Regna Ferox were standing in wait. He was still slightly appalled at his younger sister’s berating, however, so it caused him to jump slightly when the burly man in gold armor bellowed a deep laugh before speaking in a booming voice.

“Well, if it isn’t the little princeling and princess of Ylisse! The last time I saw you two, Chrom was trying to knock me over by hitting my knees with a wooden sword! Of course, he could barely reach them anyway! I sure hope your battle skills have improved, lad! Or that you at least have a real weapon.”

“What? Well, yes, I suppose they’re better than that,” Chrom chuckled.

“Basilio, shut up. You’re showing your age,” the dark skinned blonde beside him spoke. “I doubt these two remember anything of the sort,” she turned to address the trio before her, “Forgive old Basilio here. He’s gotten quite loud in his old age—”

“You’re one to talk about age!”

“—and he’s grown rather stupid on the matter of angering a woman who can best him in a fight. Since you don’t appear to remember us, my name is Flavia. Basilio and I are sharing the title of Khan of Ferox. Things tend to work out easier that way.”

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry, but I don’t quite remember the two of you very well. But I expected that the khan might recognize us,” Chrom said. “It’s a pleasure to meet the two of you… In our current memory, anyway.”

“Please, sit. Let’s get this conversation going,” Flavia said and pulled out a chair with Basilio sitting next to her. Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick took their seats across from the two Khans, Frederick looking more serious than usual and Lissa still grumbling slightly from her conversation with Chrom. It wasn’t until Basilio reached for a pitcher that Chrom noticed that the table was prepared for guests. Several steins and plates rested at the center with three pitchers of what Chrom assumed to be Feroxi beer. Basilio poured himself a drink before a thud resonated from under the table. Basilio jerked away from Flavia uttering a string of choice words. The blonde warrior turned to the stunned trio.

“Since Basilio seems to have forgotten all forms of diplomatic courtesy, I guess I’ll be the one to offer the three of you a drink,” she reached for a stein and pitcher.

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Chrom said. “I would rather discuss this with a level head.”

A loud rumbling came from Chrom’s left. He looked at Lissa, who was clutching her stomach and avoiding eye contact with everyone. “I told you I was hungry,” she murmured to Chrom.

Basilio’s loud voice once again filled the room as he laughed, much to the princess’s distress. Lissa sunk lower and lower into her seat and her face started turning red. “No worries lass! I shoulda told you earlier! Dinner will be here shortly, so that bear in your belly shouldn’t be angry for too much longer!”

Then something happened that surprised Chrom; Frederick started chuckling beside him. Slowly the stoic knight’s chuckle turned into a laughter that was contagious enough to make everyone at the table laugh along with him—even Lissa, who was still embarrassed from her stomach growling. Tears leaked from the corners of Chrom’s eyes and his sides were aching. It seemed like ages since he’d laughed so hard, especially for something so very trivial. He gave a contented sigh as everyone calmed down.

“So, how was the trip up here?” Flavia asked.

The lingering smile on Chrom’s face melted away as he recalled the ambush. “Actually, we ran into some trouble once we reached the mountains.”

“There was an attempt on milord’s life,” Frederick stated, not giving the slightest indication of his lapse in usual temperament just a few minutes before.

Flavia raised an eyebrow. “An assassin? Or bandits?” her eyes narrowed. “You don’t suspect Ferox as being responsible do—”

“No! Not at all,” Chrom stopped her from going any further. “We actually have reason to believe the ambush was organized by Valm.”

“Valm?” Basilio boomed. “That’s a load of pegasus dung! Valm has no reason to attack the royal line of Ylisse.”

“That’s what we thought as well, but there’s no denying that the clothing we investigated had Valmese sigils and handiwork,” Frederick said. “And we received news about a week ago that there were unauthorized Valmese ships sailing in Ylissian waters.”

Silence settled on the table. Lissa fiddled with the hem of her skirt. Chrom waited patiently for what the khans would say about their neighbor. It was unlike Valm to instigate a war, but peace loving countries weren’t completely innocent of bloodshed—Ylisse was no exception. Under the previous Exalt’s rule, terror filled the land as the Exalt sought to rid the world of any trace of the ancient gods. He failed eventually, but Chrom was sure that such a war had left festered wounds on the surrounding lands. Many held bitterness toward the Exalted bloodline, even if two of the three heirs were far too young to remember much about the war. When Emmeryn took up the throne after their father’s passing, she’d vowed to be a peaceful ruler. The fact that they had lost so many innocent people and soldiers along with her wish for peace left Ylisse with a relatively small military force. The Shepherds were really the strongest means of defense the country has.

“I really don’t think Ylisse could tolerate another war. Not this soon,” Chrom broke the silence. “But I apologize for bringing such matter up that don’t concern Regna Ferox.”

“Chrom, the mountains are in our territory,” Flavia said. “It became our issue when you told us it happened on our land.”

“It’s almost means for a declaration of war,” Basilio said. His voice was strong and steady, and his brow was furrowed.

“Our forces are not strong enough. We’re too few in number,” Chrom said.

Flavia thought for a minute before speaking once again. “I have an idea that you may find beneficial,” Flavia said with a smirk. “We will, of course, renew our old trade agreement. And we can provide you with military backing if you meet with war.”

“I—” Chrom began.

“Let me finish. I’m not giving you this offer without a cost. Regna Ferox cannot afford to be allied with weaklings. I propose that we have a duel of sorts. We each assemble a small force of our best soldiers to battle with one another. If we win we will simply renew our old agreement as previously signed,” Flavia smiled. “But if you win, we add a full military alliance. Sound fair?”

“It sounds more than fair,” Chrom said. He couldn’t have asked for anything more from their closest allies. “But I feel like we need to give you something in return.”

“How about if we ever need a small team of fighters, the Shepherds will assist?” Basilio asked.

Chrom reached his hand across the table, careful to raise it above the pitchers. “You’ve got a deal.”

He shook hands with both Basilio and Flavia. The large man laughed, his cheery disposition once again returned. “Ha! You looked so scared coming in here! We weren’t that bad were we?”

“No, not at all,” Chrom smiled.

“I’m still hungry,” Lissa muttered, mostly to herself. Just then the door opened with a boom, and the heady scent of stewed meat and gravy wafted toward them. Servants entered the room bearing large plates of roasted vegetables and hearty meats.

“Well, lass, I hope you have a bigger appetite than your little frame would suggest. Here in Ferox we feed our guests until they’re ready to bust!” Basilio said.

“Oh, don’t worry. She can put away more than you’d think,” Frederick said.

“Hey!” She yelled at him.

“I hope you like bear!” Basilio said.

“B-bear? Oh, o-of course,” Frederick paled a bit as a servant placed a large helping on the plate in front of him. Lissa had already been served, and was looking at her plate longingly.

“He’s pulling your leg, Sir Frederick,” Flavia said. “We all know about your distaste for bear.”

“Thank goodness,” Frederick breathed a sigh of relief.

Chrom chuckled at the knight. “So shall we discuss the finer details of our agreement over dinner?”

“Of course,” Flavia said. “And we’ll sign paperwork over dessert.”

Once everyone’s plates were full and the servants left, Chrom raised his glass. “To Ylisse and Regna Ferox. May our bonds of friendship and unity never break.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOOOOO I'M STILL ALIVE. THOUGHT YOU COULD ESCAPE ME DIDN'T YOU? WELL SCHOOL HASN'T KILLED ME YET!!
> 
> Sorry if this chapter feels choppy. It took me like five months to spit it out.
> 
> But hey! Finals end this week! That means I'll have summer break to (hopefully) write this thing.
> 
> Also, I swear the next chapter is much more entertaining. But I needed a plot pusher lol.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Took me long enough, I know. I apologize. Same excuses, blah blah. BUT I was a mersister in The Little Mermaid at a local theater this summer, if that counts for anything.

Chrom wandered through the halls of the Feroxi castle, walking off the rest of his nervousness from the day. Their meeting really couldn’t have gone any better; regardless of the sparring match, Emmeryn’s mission had been completed, and the Feroxi-Ylisse trade agreement was secure for another ten years. However, the ambush from that morning still bothered him. Valm was considered a peaceful country. Even if his father had overstepped some of his bounds as Exalt, Chrom expected Valm to be more forward and diplomatic with any issues they might have with Ylisse.

The clicking of his boots echoed off the stone walls, and faintly he heard the whistle of the wind from the snow storm outside. Luckily Ferox was equipped with an arena they could duel in, so they wouldn’t have to fight in the snow. Chrom let out a sigh as he tried relaxing his shoulders.

Flavia and Basilio suggested they battle tomorrow evening, allowing the rest of the day for preparations. Frederick offered to check the durability of everyone’s weapons, and Lissa agreed to prepare Vulnerary for everyone. That left Chrom with strategizing, though he had never been good at tactics; sure he was a good commander, but he found it difficult to predict the ‘enemy’s’ movements. Most of his charge included a strong heads on offense and a stable defense when necessary.

Chrom rubbed his temples. What he really needed was a way to clear his mind. Maybe he could come up with a half way decent plan; Regna Ferox was famous for its military strength, and while he believed in the Shepherd’s strength, he was worried about the outcome of the battle.

Suddenly Chrom remembered the hot spring. Perhaps the warm waters would clear his mind and help him think better. He started making his way down the hall where Flavia mentioned the door to the spring pool was. However, he hadn’t walked too far when he heard it.

He heard a melodic voice, sweeter than honey, and… familiar, somehow. It absolutely captivated him. The voice seemed to pull him to its source, and he found himself walking without necessarily meaning to. As the song grew louder he started feeling safe and warm, as if the voice was soothing his worries.

Chrom found himself in front of a sturdy door. It was unusually warm here, but Chrom didn’t notice. Neither did he notice the steam creeping up from the door. All he was aware of was the beautiful singing from behind the door. Without willing it to do so, his hand reached for the doorknob and opened it.  
___ 

Robin sighed as she sank into the warm waters of the Feroxi hot spring. She was happy to have a few minutes to herself; the Shepherds were a joy to be around, but sometimes they got to be a little too much, especially with Vaike and Virion going on and on about her and Chrom.

The large pool allowed her to float on her back, which she greatly appreciated. Even the air was warm in here, so the bare skin that was exposed to the air didn’t catch a chill. She took the calm opportunity to observe the spring house more closely.

While most of Ferox castle walls and ceilings were stone, Robin noticed that this room had a wood slatted ceiling contrasting with the stone walls and pool. A small waterfall of sorts brought in fresh water continuously, and an opening in the back of the room offered a place for water to leave. She figured the spring was probably located around the castle courtyard.

Sinking until her entire body was submerged in water, Robin relaxed her body. She sat underwater as long as she could, reveling in its warm embrace. For some reason the water had an intense calming quality to it. She felt comfortable in a way she couldn’t remember feeling before. It almost felt like something from her past. Something important.

Robin’s head started to throb a little bit. She broke the surface of the water and leaned against a smooth rock nearby, keeping her waist down submerged. She really shouldn’t push herself hard to recall her past. This was a mission for the Shepherds; her personal ventures could wait.

Not wanting to think about her lack of a past or the day’s events any longer, Robin did something without thinking. She started singing.

It wasn’t a specific song, and she didn’t know where the tune came from, but as the song escaped her lips, it felt _right_. Here, in these warm waters, singing this song, she felt _home_.

Without realizing it tears streamed down her face. Her heart felt heavy, but her mind was blank, and that was the most disturbing part; she was crying over something she couldn’t recall.

Rather than let it stop her, she let the tears fuel her song. Relief slowly washed over her as these pent up emotions found release.

Suddenly the door to the spring opened. She stopped all at once and locked eyes with her visitor.

“ _Chrom!_ ” she screamed. Her first instinct was to throw something; the first something she grabbed just so happened to be a bottle of bath oil.

It flew by Chrom’s face and shattered on the bathroom wall. The blue haired prince shook his head as if coming out of a haze. He looked surprised to find Robin sitting in the water in front of him. His eyes involuntarily drifted down to her exposed upper body.  
Suddenly he realized exactly where he was. He looked away quickly, and an intense red blush graced his entire face.

“Oh—I, uh—” Chrom stuttered.

Robin, having suddenly realized her exposure, quickly covered her chest with her arms and lowered herself. Water splashed on the nearby rocks at the sudden movement, and a pink tint covered her chest and cheeks.

“I was just, uh—” he scratched his head with nervous energy.

Covering her chest with one arm, she reached for another bottle. “Chrom, get _out_!”

“Yes, sorry. I was just, uh, leaving,” Chrom raised his hands to signify retreat. He started walking back slowly, but quickly turned and ran when Robin threw the bottle of bath salts, which hit the door behind him.

Robin let out an exasperated screech of embarrassment and frustration. This man would be the death of her.  
___

The next morning before breakfast, Robin heard a knock on her bedroom door. Having already dressed for the day, she quickly fastened her belt before opening the door.

“Hello, Chrom,” she attempted to give no acknowledgement of what happened last night, but she couldn’t help how her heart rate started to flutter. “What can I do for you this morning?”

“Robin, I, uh,” Chrom stuttered and scratched the back of his head. “I just wanted to apologize for last night. Here. I brought you something.” She noticed he was holding a small pouch in one hand.

Robin’s eyes widened momentarily, but she quickly regained her composure as he handed her the pouch. “Oh?”

“It’s a few Feroxi chocolates; they’re famous for being the best sweets in the realm. Flavia gave us some last night,” he paused for a minute, searching for the right words. “And I don’t know what came over me last night. I heard someone singing, and—I know this will sound stupid, but—I couldn’t resist the urge to follow it to the source,” he paused for a moment as if the singer’s identity had just been revealed to him. “Wait. That was you singing, wasn’t it?”

Robin didn’t respond. She looked at the floor as she walked over to her boots, trying to cover her embarrassment with the veil of white her loose hair provided. She grabbed her shoes and sat on the foot of the bed.

“Robin, you have a beautiful voice,” Chrom said, excitement relevant in his tone. Robin glanced up at him. Amazement and sincerity framed his face; he looked like a puppy that was about to get a treat.

Robin chuckled, “At least you’ve learned to knock before entering a room.”

Chrom’s face flushed, and his eyebrows raised slightly. His eyes darted around the room before settling on her brown ones. “Look, I really am sorry. I know you probably don’t believe anything I just—”

“No. It’s not like you haven’t seen it before,” her eyes focused on the dresser, and Chrom’s turned noticeably redder. She looked back at him, eyebrows scrunched. “Let’s just—forget it happened. I don’t know what came over me, either.”

Chrom heaved a sigh of relief, and a comfortable silence settled between the two of them as Robin finished lacing her shoes. She stood up and placed the bag of chocolate on the dresser before she started braiding her hair.

“That’s not the only reason I wanted to see you this morning,” Chrom said. Robin didn’t say anything, but met his eyes in the mirror’s reflection. He continued, “As part of our solution last night, the khans have offered Ylisse military support in case of emergency. However, we have to battle a small force of theirs tonight.”

Robin started gathering her loose hair into a tail. She nodded for him to continue.

“The thing is, I’m not very good at strategizing, and I can’t help but remember how quickly you read those library books—it seems like you pick up on new things quickly. And you saved my life in the heat of battle with no apparent prior knowledge,” his eyes wandered around the room. He could feel himself starting to ramble a bit. “I just feel like that combination would be beneficial to a tactician. So, I guess what I’m really saying is, would you help me strategize this battle? It’s really important.”

Robin finished tying her hair and rolled her eyes. She grabbed her gold compass from the dresser and put the necklace chain around her neck, then turned around to face him.

“Of course I’ll help. I’m not sure why, but I think I can actually be of use on that subject. It feels right. Maybe I’ve had tactical training before.”

“Great!” Chrom said, once again looking like a puppy. “We’ll meet in my room after breakfast to start strategizing. I’ll tell everyone at breakfast so they can start making preparations.”

Robin laughed at his change in demeanor; he was all but bouncing up and down in excitement. “Alright, Chrom. Now why don’t we head to the mess hall and get started?” She smiled and grabbed her coat before heading to the door, the blue haired man following cheerily behind her. “Oh, and thank you for the chocolates.”  
___ 

“Robin, look out!”

Chrom shoved the white haired woman to the side just as a hand axe flew past where she was previously standing. Without any hesitation, she cast a spell that incapacitated her attacker.

A roar of cheers settled on her ears. Judging by the size of the arena they were fighting in, the people of Regna Ferox took their duels extremely seriously. All around them people cheered, but whether it was for the Shepherds or the Feroxi fighters, Robin couldn’t tell. It sounded like they just appreciated a good fight.

“Thanks for having my back there, Chrom,” she said.

“We’re not done yet!” he declared before charging another enemy. He took the fighter down quickly and easily. “I thought you said this would be a challenging fight!”

“I did, Chrom! Don’t get too confident. We’ve only just begun,” she said. Suddenly a hand axe knocked her hand and sent her tome flying across the arena, causing an audible groan of sympathy from the crowd. “Because then that will happen,” she muttered to herself before unsheathing her sword. She parried the next attack and dealt a blow that almost knocked the other man out.

“I’m just getting warmed up! I’ll cover your back if you’ve got mine!” Chrom said with a cheery smirk.

“Whatever you say, my Prince,” Robin said, emphasizing the last word with enough sarcasm to let him know she was just trying to annoy him.

“You’re the one in charge here, Tactician,” he retorted in a similar manner, causing Robin to stifle a laugh as a swordsman approached her with full force.

They spent the next several minutes facing opponent after opponent together. Robin could see the Shepherds slowly advancing all around the arena as the Feroxi soldiers were forced to fall back. Frederick and Cordelia made a fierce duo, and the fire and determination in their eyes reminded Robin to try her hardest not to ever be on the receiving end of either’s lance. Sully and Stahl were clearing out their opponents almost as if the entire fight was a game by keeping score with one another. Between attacks Miriel critiqued Vaike on his form and made suggestions to improve his accuracy; much to the blonde man’s distress, as he threw his axe with a frustrated yell after every pointer. Virion guarded Lissa as she raced around healing the Shepherds who got hit a little too hard.

While scanning the field, Robin noticed a pair of Feroxi soldiers who just revealed themselves from the shadows and were quickly advancing upon Lissa, who was rushing to heal Vaike and his bloody nose. Virion had been pulled away from her for a moment to help Stahl with another fighter, leaving Lissa completely vulnerable for a sneak attack.

“Frederick! Cover Lissa!” She yelled at the knight. He was the closest and least distracted Shepherd near the princess, and Robin just hoped he could hear her.

Frederick looked up to see Robin frantically gesturing behind him. He turned around and immediately took action on Lissa’s assailants, sending them into retreat before the blonde even noticed that she had just been in danger.

Satisfied with how the Shepherds were faring, Robin redirected her attention to the number of opponents they were facing. It appeared that the remaining Feroxi soldiers were facing off with the Shepherds. They might actually be able to win this duel.

A sudden motion up the field caught Robin’s attention. There was one more soldier left, and it appeared that nobody had noticed him yet. Without hesitation, Robin ran at him. Sparks flew as the steel of her blade met her opponent’s. She gritted her teeth and put all her strength into her sword as she pushed against him. However, he outweighed her in size and strength. She needed to avoid being pushed to the ground, or she would never be able to best him.

Robin quickly ducked under his arm and withdrew her sword. The sudden motion startled her opponent and caused him to stumble forward away from her. Even though Robin managed to evade the Feroxi soldier, she couldn’t stop physics.

Her forward motion shifted her center of gravity toward her head, which was in front of her feet instead of directly over them; along with her continued motion, Robin couldn’t stop herself from falling face first into the dirt. Although she managed to break her fall with her hands and roll, she no longer had a sword, and her opponent had already recovered from his stumble.

The Feroxi man began to charge at her, and she quickly scanned her surroundings. Her sword was too far away; by the time she reached it, her opponent would reach her. There were no sticks or stray weapons lying around. The only thing she could think of was to roll and try tripping him to buy her time to grab her weapon.

Just as she was about to shift her weight, a flutter of white fabric caught her eye. Chrom stood between her and the Feroxi man. He swung Falchion to block the Feroxi’s killing edge, and Robin scrambled to grab her sword.

The two men’s blades pushed off one another, and Robin stood next to the blue haired prince.

“You okay?” Chrom asked with a side glance and a raised eyebrow.

“I totally had everything under control there,” Robin said, readying her blade.

Chrom scoffed, “Sure looked like it.”

“Well how about next time you jump in a little bit sooner, hmm?” Robin snarked back at him.

Chrom laughed, “So you’re saying there’ll be a next time? I guess that means we should stick together, then.”

“Starting now,” Robin smiled at him. “Together.”

“Together.”

Facing off against two skilled fighters, the Feroxi soldier proved a fair opponent. However, where Chrom showed weakness, Robin filled the gap. Where Robin slipped up or missed, Chrom was there to cover her. Their opponent quickly dodged and parried their attacks with the skill of a fully trained knight.

Robin and Chrom didn’t notice that the rest of the Shepherds had won their individual battles and were watching their leaders, nor that the entire audience was silent watching the white haired woman and the Ylissian prince fight with the grace and unity of professional dancers.

After the Feroxi man gave in to defeat, everything stood still for a moment. Chrom and Robin stood side by side catching their breath as everyone looked at them in awe. It was then that Robin noticed that the battle was over, and the Shepherds had won.

The crowd erupted with applause as the Shepherds flocked the tactician and prince. Robin looked at the soldier they had just defeated. During the fight she didn’t pay much attention to his appearance. He looked as if he was a foreigner even to Regna Ferox.  
His dark brown hair framed a very disgruntled face. He looked like he’d been eating something sour for lunch rather than fighting. Robin offered her hand to the man.

“That was a good fight,” she said. He looked at her hand as if it was going to attack him. Rather than accepting her help, he pushed himself off the ground and into a standing position with a grunt. Robin looked at him in slight shock, not knowing how to respond to him.

“Don’t mind Lon’qu, lass,” Basilio’s voice boomed as he approached with Flavia by his side and a petite woman with a pink ponytail right behind him. “He doesn’t care much for women. Clams up every time he’s around one.” He walked up behind Chrom and gave him a hard pat on the back that caused the prince to jump.

“You really proved yourself, Chrom,” Flavia said. “Lon’qu is no easy opponent; he’s actually the best fighter in our ranks. You are definitely a worthy ally of Regna Ferox, and we would be happy to back your cause in times of war.”

“Thank you, Flavia,” Chrom smiled. His face and shoulders noticeably relaxed after hearing her words. “I hope it doesn’t come to it, but I’ll rest better knowing you two will stand by us.”

“And to show and withhold our agreement, I’ll be sending a couple of ambassadors with you,” Basilio announced. “You’ve already met Lon’qu; he’ll be joining you. And this,” he gestured to the woman behind him, “is Olivia.”

The pink haired woman walked forward with timid steps, her eyes downcast and her hands at her chest. She glanced up at Chrom while she spoke. “H-hello.”

“Olivia here is the finest dancer in all of Regna Ferox,” Basilio said. Olivia’s face reddened at the compliment.

“W-well, I wouldn’t go that far. I just move with the music.” She looked down as if trying to hide from the attention Basilio was giving her.

Lissa stepped forward. “You dance? That is so cool! Do you think you could teach me sometime?” she asked.

“Um, s-sure, if you really want to—”

“YAY!” Lissa rushed forward and grabbed Olivia’s hands before jumping up and down. Olivia’s shocked face soon turned to laughter, and she suddenly seemed more comfortable with the new group of people.  
Lissa stopped bouncing. “Lon’qu,” as she said his name the man stiffened visibly. “You’re bleeding.”

Everyone suddenly noticed the blood that was dripping down Lon’qu’s sword hand and forming a pool in the dirt. “It’s nothing,” he said.

“It’s not ‘nothing.’ Let me heal you.”

“No.”

“You’re going to need stitches with that much blood if I don’t heal you now.”

“No.”

“Lon’qu, if you’re going to travel with us, then you may as well get used to me. It will take far too long for your stitches to heal. It looks like that’s your fighting hand. Let. Me. Heal. You. Now,” the blonde princess said with a defiant stomp. She was radiating frustration, but with her small frame, her anger was lost to most of those around her.

Lon’qu and Lissa stared at each other in an invisible argument for several minutes before Lon’qu spoke. “… Fine.”

With a contented nod, Lissa walked off to find her staff. Robin spotted a page running toward the group; the young boy’s hair was messy, and he had a distressed look on his face. A wave of unease flooded Robin.

“Sir… urgent news… for Lord Chrom…”the page boy huffed, trying to catch his breath.

Chrom took a small step forward, his brow furrowed in worry.

“It’s… It’s…” the boy started before losing his breath again.

“Well, what is it, lad?!” Basilio all but yelled at the already trembling boy.

“I-it’s about Lady Emmeryn, sir!”

Robin’s stomach sank. Chrom looked at Robin and Frederick then back to the page. “What about her?”

“I’ve just received news that the Ylissian palace was attacked. Lady Emmeryn has been kidnapped, sir!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I legitimately have no clue how long it will take me to update again. I'm slightly burnt out on the mermaid stuff (I still love it don't worry). I need to be re-inspired because I don't want the quality to decline. If you're still reading, thank you sooooo much for being patient with me. I'll try to get it out relatively soon, and it won't be too long before we get to stuff that follows the plot of the Little Mermaid better! Kind of. Maybe.
> 
> Also, I've fallen deep into a Dick Grayson/Nightwing hole and have been writing a _very_ angsty imagine that will be completely done soon. So if you actually like my writing style, keep an eye out for that.

**Author's Note:**

> So, as my first fic, my writing and storyline may be a little rough. I'm trying as hard as I can to express my story, and if I'm successful, it'll probably be a long one. I'll try to make semi-regular postings, but, since I'm new to the whole writing thing, I can't make any promises.
> 
> I would appreciate any comments on what you think, especially if they can help me improve my writing!


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